East Ridge ended Eagan's hold on the Class 4A, Section 3 championship by beating the Wildcats and advancing to the state tournament championship game last fall. The Raptors will have to overcome significant loss from their 2021 roster if there's hope of holding on to that section championship.
Hitters Camryn Greenwald (Montana State) and Britt Carlson (Washington State) are playing Division-I volleyball this fall, and last year's starting setter, Macey Spolidoro, is busy with other extracurricular activities this season.
The talent is there for East Ridge (2-1, 0-0), ranked second in Class 4A by the state coaches association. And coach Steve Anderson has a schedule designed to test his team to the limit.
At Lakeville North (2-1, 0-0), which has become a perennial contender and frequent champion in Class 4A, Section 1, the Panthers have the same approach.
The teams meet on Wednesday night in what could turn out to be a state tournament game preview.
Both teams have played No. 3-4A Champlin Park. Lakeville North won the first two sets before falling in five, while East Ridge came to life in the second set and beat the Rebels in four sets on their home floor.
Juniors Alexa Dietz and Hadley Burger and sophomore Addison Mattes have proven capable of filling the hole left by Greenwald and Carlson, and sophomore Alexis Opland has been steady as the full time replacement for Spolidoro.
Lakeville North gets a big boost from underclassmen Rayna Christianson, second on the team in kills last season as an eighth-grader, and sophomore Brooke Zweber. Ava Blascziek, who split time at setter with Abby Jandro last season, has the job on a full time basis this season.