Lakers are staying STRONG!!!

Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2015 2:30 pm By Tom Schardin, tschardin@swpub.com

 Talent combined with depth can be a beautiful thing.

 The No. 2-ranked Prior Lake volleyball team has both and it showed at the Eagle Invitational Sept. 25-26. The Eagles went 4-0 to win the crown, sweeping No. 1 Eagan in the title match (25-16, 27-25).

 Prior Lake earned a sweep of Apple Valley in the semifinals (25-21, 25-14) and went 2-0 in pool play Sept. 25 with three-set win over No. 4 Roseville (25-22, 21-25, 15-7) and a sweep over Hopkins (25-16, 25-14).

 The Lakers (13-3 overall) were able to avenge a four-set loss to Eagan in South Suburban Conference play Sept. 15. In the rematch, Prior Lake played without senior Lara Schultz, while senior Olivia Spanton got hurt in the first set.

Schultz, the Lakers' leader in kills last year, didn't play the entire invite, nursing an injury. Spanton hurt her knee midway through the first set in the title match.

 The Lakers finished off Eagan in the first set after Spanton went down and then held off the Wildcats in the second set without her for the sweep. Senior Ella Francis led the way with 11 kills.

 Francis has 222 kills in 16 matches to lead the Lakers. She's averaging more than five kills per set. She's playing as good as any hitter in the state right now. She has 13 matches with double-digit kills and three with 20-plus.

 “It’s really hard seeing anyone go down, but (Olivia) pulled us over and kind of told us that we need to keep playing for her," Francis told the Minnesota Volleyball Hub. "She’s going to be fine, just go out there and win like we know we can.

 "We really wanted to play for her and pull out a win definitely because she went down," added Francis.

 Here's a fun fact. The last 10 winners of the Eagle Invitational have gone on to win the Class 3A state title. Eagan did it 2013, as did Lakeville North in 2012. Shakopee did it three straight years (2007-09).

In the last nine years, the Eagle invite winner has at least qualified for state. Apple Valley won its own invite in 2005, but lost in section play that year.

 Prior Lake has never qualified for state. The Lakers lost in the Section 2AAA title match last year to Chaska in three sets. The Hawks went on to win the state crown, while Prior Lake ended with a program-best 27-3 mark.

In the Eagle invite title match, junior Anna Martin chipped in three kills and two blocks for the Lakers. Junior Ellie Veldman led in set assists with 14, while sophomore CC McGraw finished with a team-best 15 digs, while Veldman had 11.

Senior Danielle Sorensen had two ace serves for the Lakers.

Against Apple Valley, Francis had 10 kills to lead the way, followed by Martin with six, sophomore Kayla Bair with five, Spanton with four and sophomore Maddy Bremer with three.

 Veldman had 22 set assists to pace the offense.

 In beating Roseville, Francis led with 11 kills, while Martin had six. Veldman had 23 assists and eight digs. McGraw led in digs with 16, while Spanton had nine and sophomore Hannah Reis had eight.

Bair had five blocks, while Francis, Bremer and Veldman both had three. Bremer and Spanton both had two ace serves.

Against Hopkins, Francis had nine kills, while Spanton had seven. Veldman had 19 assists, while senior Mara Fossum had six. Bremer and Spanton both had two ace serves. McGraw led in digs with 17.

Prior Lake went into the invite sweeping Lakeville North Sept. 24 in a South Suburban Conference match (25-11, 25-22, 25-14). The Lakers are 2-1 in league play.

 Francis led in kills with 11, while Spanton had eight and Bremer had seven. Veldman had 18 assists, followed by Fossum with nine. Veldman, Fossum and Spanton each had two ace serves.

McGraw finished with 15 digs, while Spanton had 10. Bremer led in blocks with four.

 Prior Lake is back in SSC action Sept. 29 at home versus Shakopee at 7 p.m.

Go Hawkeyes!!

Had a GREAT time at the Hawkeye vs Pittsburgh football game last night!!  

Newspaper article from last nights game

The Prior Lake volleyball team returned to winning form Sept. 17 on the South Suburban Conference road.

The No. 3-ranked Lakers avoided a three-match losing streak with a four-set win over Apple Valley (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-16). Prior Lake hasn't lost three in row since the middle of the 2012 season.

The Lakers went into the match, falling in four sets at No. 6 Eagan Sept. 15 in SSC play and losing to No. 1 Lakeville South in the title match of the Southwest Minnesota Challenge Sept. 12 in Marshall.

Meanwhile, senior Ella Francis continues to dominate on offense for the Lakers. She finished with 20 kills against Apple Valley, adding seven digs.

Francis has a team-best 170 kills in the Lakers' 8-3 start (1-1 in the SSC).

Prior Lake faced Apple Valley without senior Lara Schultz (59 kills in 10 matches), so junior Ellie Veldman was in a dual role. Not only did she have 21 set assists, but added three kills and 11 digs.

Senior Mara Fossum rotated the setting duties with Veldman and led in assists with 22, adding 12 digs. Senior Danielle Sorensen picked up the slack for Schultz at the service line with five ace serves, while senior Olivia Spanton had three aces, along with 18 digs and five kills.

Sophomore Maddy Bremer finished with nine kills and two blocks, while junior Anna Martin had eight kills. Sophomore Kayla Bair had six kills and five blocks.

Sophomore CC McGraw led the defense with 27 digs, giving her a team-high 190 on the season.

Prior Lake is back on the SSC court Sept. 24 at home versus Lakeville North at 7 p.m.

The Lakers are playing in the prestigious Eagle Invitational Sept. 25-26 in Apple Valley. The field is loaded with top teams, including Lakeville South, Eagan, No. 2 Eden Prairie, No. 4 Roseville, No. 8 Chaska and No. 10 Marshall.

Other top Class 3A programs in the field are Hopkins, Waconia, Shakopee, Moorhead and Blaine, along with Bethlehem Academy, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A.

The Lakers follow the tourney at home versus Shakopee Sept. 29 in league play at 7 p.m.

Homecoming date!

Maddy came home from her winning volleyball match to find a room full of balloons and a date for the dance.  

Article about PL volleyball!!!!

LAKERS READY TO BEGIN TITLE QUEST

08/24/2015, 3:30pm CDT

By Tom Schardin

The Prior Lake volleyball team is not about to let its preseason No. 1 ranking in Class 3A  go to its head.

Championships are not won in August and that's what the Lakers are seeking this fall — the Section 2AAA title and the program's first-ever trip to state.

The Lakers will also be defending their South Suburban Conference title. They went 9-0 in the highly competitive league last year en route to a program-best 27 wins (27-3). Prior Lake fell to Chaska in three sets in the Section 2AAA title game last year.

"It's obviously nice to be recognized as a team that plays at a high level," said Lakers coach Mike Dean. "But we have a lot of work to do. I know the girls appreciate the No. 1 ranking, but we haven't served a ball yet in game.

"We are going to worry about what we control and just play the best volleyball we can," added Dean.

The Lakers return a ton of talent from last year, starting with the front line. Seniors Lara Schultz and Ella Francis are back to power the offense, along with junior Anna Martin and sophomore Kayla Bair.

Senior Olivia Spanton was also a strong offense player last year, along with sophomore CC McGraw. But one those two looks to be playing libero this fall.

Junior Ellie Veldman is back at setter and will be joined by senior Mara Fossum. Sophomore Maddie Bremer will also one to watch on the Lakers' front line.

"We have some competition in some spots," said Dean. "But we have a lot of experience back and a lot of talent."

Last March, the Minnesota State High School League reclassified all the sections for all the sports. And Section 2AAA for volleyball went from strong to downright, insanely powerful.

Not only was Eden Prairie and Minnetonka added to the field, but so was perennial power Marshall, last year's Class 2A state runner-up. Marshall has won four Class 2A titles the last six years, but the dominant program from the southwest corner of the state is now in Class 3A.

Ninth-ranked Shakopee is also in the 2AAA field with defending state champion Chaska. Chanhassen and Waconia are two more strong programs. The rest of the field includes Hutchinson, New Prague, Mankato West and Mankato East.

"The section went from really, really hard to really, really, really hard," said Dean. "If you make it out of this section, you will have earned it. The girls are excited for the challenge."

The Lakers will play in the Southwest Minnesota Challenge in Marshall Sept. 11-12. Prior Lake is also in the prestigious Eagle Invitational in Apple Valley Sept. 25-26 and the Bachman Invitational at Lakeville North Oct. 9-10.

Marshall is also in those three invites, so the Lakers could see the Tigers a few times before section play.

The Lakers play a very strong strong schedule. They're in the Side Out Classic in Hopkins Aug. 29 versus No. 8 Champlin Park at 7 p.m. Prior Lake is home to Chaska Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.

Prior Lake opens the SSC season Sept. 9 at No. 2 Eagan at 7 p.m.

The Lakers begin the season Aug. 27 at home versus Owatonna at 7 p.m.

"If we want to get to a higher level, we have to play against the best competition," said Dean. "We do that in our conference season and in our section."

The SSC has five ranked teams in the preseason Class 3A poll including No. 4 Lakeville North and No. 6 Rosemount.

Last fall, the Lakers' SSC title was their first. It was also the first time the program made it to the section final.

Schultz set the program's single-season record for ace serves, finishing with 73, which was 12 more than the previous mark. She also led the Lakers in kills with 339 and in blocks (31).

Francis was second in kills, finishing with 321, followed by Spanton (171), McGraw (141) and Martin (112). In blocks, Francis had 28, followed by Martin (25) and Bair (21).

Veldman was second on the team in set assists last year (432).

The Lakers will have to replace Brittany Leuthmers at libero, who was a five-year letterwinner. She left as not only the team's all-time digs leader but the MSHSL all-time leader. She finished with 2,016 career digs, which is more than 200 better than the previous record holder, Brittany Chambers of Jordan (1,802).

"Losing Brittany is a big; she was a great player for us," said Dean. "We could count on her every night. Either Spanton or McGraw will play there. Both are very talented and can play that spot at a high level."

I love Butterflies!!!

Way to go PL LAKER volleyball!!

Breakdown champs!!!

Finish of a GREAT season!

14th place out of 36 teams!  Great job girls! Was an exhausting 2 weeks for AAU Nationals in Orlando, and USAJO Nationals in New Orleans! 

Day 2 in New Orleans!

Girls won all their matches yesterday, and won their first match this morning.  We are currently 4-0!  2 more matches left today!  Go Lights!! A fight to the finish!

Day 2! Team is 4-0 in the gold Division!

won first of 3 matches for today!! Awesome start to the day!

Dinner with the coaches last night! A good looking bunch of girls!