North Branch returns eight starters from last season's Class 2A championship squad, a big reason why coach Mike Selbitschka has a hard time containing his enthusiasm for his current team.
The Vikings, the No. 4 seed in last year's tourney, beat top-seeded Kasson-Mantorville in the semifinals and No. 3 seed Marshall in the final.
"The targets were not on our backs (then)," Selbitschka said. "We played better than teams expected us to. But we always thought we had a chance."
The targets are on the Vikings' backs this season, and Selbitschka is OK with that.
His daughter, Cianna Selbitschka, an all-state hitter last year and a Minnesota-Duluth commit, is fully recovered from an ACL tear suffered two years ago. Sophomore hitter Paige Peaslee is returning after a season lost to injury.
Cianna Selbitschka, who finished last season with a team record 1,750 career kills, has a chance to surpass 2,000 career kills this season. With 47 in her first two games, she's off to a good start.
Paige Sheehan, with 76 assists and seven service aces in her first two games, Reagan Irons and Kylie Kline help form the heart of a strong lineup.
The Vikings (2-0, 0-0) already have passed two tests this season with a 3-1 victory over Moorhead, a Class 3A state tournament team a season ago, and a 3-2 victory over No. 9-2A Southwest Christian. Enter yet another test in Forest Lake, which was a Class 3A state tournament team last year.
Forest Lake (0-0, 0-0) lost a few primary contributors to graduation, but coach Sherri Alm is happy with the players coming up from junior varsity.
"We are figuring out our system, strengths and weaknesses of our players and building from there," Alm said. "We should be able to hold our own."
Middle hitters Abby Drury, a 5-10 senior, and Maddie DeMars, a 6-1 junior, have the most experience. Juniors McKenna Andrews and Jamie Ihfe and seniors Hanna Zlab, Josie Olson and Kate Gemuenden have proven to be competitive, Alm said.