Prior Lake’s Kayla Bair may not have been practicing long, but the junior has been perfecting a serve that could help propel the Lakers to a Class 3A state title.

The 6-foot-1 Michigan commit has a specific spin to her serve that she’s been honing for the past several weeks, but Bair said she doesn’t have a clear answer for why it’s been so effective. 

Neither do opponents.

For the second time this season, Bair’s serving was key in a Lakers’ victory as she helped Prior Lake power past Roseville in straight sets on Saturday night in the Side Out Classic at Hopkins High School. 

She recorded five straight service aces in Prior Lake’s season opener, a straight-set win over Owatonna on Aug. 25, and her success continued against Roseville in the game’s most important set. 

The Lakers, ranked No. 2 in the Class 3A coaches’ preseason poll, won the first set 25-16 but couldn’t separate from the No. 6-3A Raiders in the second frame, where they rallied for a 30-28 victory after a series of serves by Bair.

“Kayla got back and went on a nice run at the service line for us, which she did a couple of times for us,” Lakers coach Mike Dean said. 

Bair’s play helped Prior Lake return to its game plan, which included controlling the ball and being aggressive at the net, Dean added.

That aggression helped Prior Lake put away Roseville 25-9 in the third set and cement the match. 

Senior setter Ellie Veldman said the partial breakdown in the middle set could be attributed to the Lakers psyching themselves out. 

“I think that when (opponents) get in a run of points, we kind of get it in our heads and that brings us down,” she said. 

Even Bair lost her focus, as one of her serves uncharacteristically found the middle of the net in the second set, giving the Raiders new life by extending the set. 

Bair, however, regained her concentration and played an instrumental role in the victory, finishing with 10 kills. 

“We talk about being mentally tough with our girls and being resilient,” Dean said, adding that his team goes through mental training that centers on controlling the conversation in players’ heads.

“We want to bounce back from failures,” Dean said. “Mistakes happen, but we’ve got to keep being aggressive, and (Bair) kept getting after it.”

This was Prior Lake’s first meeting with Roseville since the Class 3A state semifinals a year ago, where the Lakers survived a similar scare in the second set and emerged victorious to sweep the Raiders. 

Bair had 10 kills in that game, but it’s her serve that has the team believing that this year it can better last season’s second-place finish at state. 

“She’s so tall, she’s got dimensions other (teams) can’t match up on,” Dean said.

Senior right hitter Lauren Kiewiet recorded 11 kills and junior middle hitter Kayla Bair added 10 to lead Prior Lake to a straight-set victory over Roseville on Saturday night at Hopkins High School in the Breakdown Sports USA Side Out Classic. 

The Lakers, ranked No. 2 in the Class 3A coaches' preseason poll, breezed through the first and third sets, recording 25-16 and 25-9 victories. 

The second frame, however, was a marathon won by the Lakers (2-0), who completed an impressive comeback in the 30-28 victory. 

Senior outside hitter Alivia Garbe led the No. 6-3A Raiders (1-1) with 12 kills while senior right side hitter Julia Deyak chipped in six. 

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