East Ridge vs. Lakeville North
5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 31

East Ridge fell to Prior Lake in its opening match at the Breakdown Sports Side Out Classic, losing in four sets after winning the first one. It was also the first match as coach for Steve Anderson, who came over from a very successful North St. Paul program this offseason. Anderson has a bevy of returning talent coming off a 21-win season.

The No. 7-3A Raptors (0-1) boast great back row play, anchored by one of the state’s best liberos in senior Ella Ratzloff. Junior Stephanie Barber is a veteran setter who has a new young weapon in freshman outside hitter Lauren Galvin, who was on the elite Northern Lights 14-1 squad.

Lakeville North swept Wayzata in its opening match last Thursday, and the No. 3-3A Panthers (1-0) are expected to again be contenders for a state berth under coach Jackie Richter.

Senior setter Amanda Burger had a big match against Wayzata, leading the Lakeville North with 19 set assists and eight service aces. In total, the Panthers' serve game gave the Trojans fits, racking up 18 service aces overall.

Six-foot junior outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke led Lakeville North with 385 kills last year and began with a team-best 12 in the first match. She’s an aggressive attacker who plays a six-rotation game (she also had 288 digs last fall).