Much of what makes Champlin Park dangerous — and what will make the Rebels even more difficult to face as the season goes on — was on display Saturday.

The Rebels boast three hitters who could be No. 1 options on most teams in the state, as well as University of Wisconsin commit Izzy Ashburn, a setter with options galore.

Champlin Park, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, swept seventh-ranked Hopkins (0-2) Saturday in the Breakdown Side Out Classic at the Lindbergh Center in Hopkins.

Rebels coach John Yunker said his team played just OK against the Royals, with some lapses late in sets. It’s something that Champlin Park (1-0), which returns most everyone from its 2017 fifth-in-state team, needs to iron out early.

“And they know it’s not OK, it’s just a matter of reminding themselves to get out of it a little sooner, [that] kind of thing,” Yunker said.

The thing is, aside from a lull early in the second set, the Rebels seemed to have complete control of the match, even if they weren’t playing to their potential.

Senior Lauren Clark and junior Sami Hilley each had 11 kills for the Rebels, while senior Emma Schmidt had 10. Ashburn, another senior, was comfortable feeding not only her big three, but anyone else who was open in the moment as well. Ashburn finished with 30 assists and 10 digs.

“I love it. It’s great,” Ashburn said. “I trust all my hitters, but everybody’s going to have their on and off days. It’s gonna happen through the season, it happens to everybody.

"It’s nice to have three options all the time. It’s just a great feeling to know that you have so many great players around you," she said.

Given Ashburn’s feel for the game, she doesn't worry about being paralyzed by choices. She just seems to set the right player in the right moment — early in the match, it was feeding Clark; for a stretch in the second, Hilley went on a roll.

For Ashburn, having too many options isn’t an issue.

“Honestly, some setters it might, but not Izzy,” Yunker said. “She just plays at a high level and she understands the game — her volleyball IQ is so high.”

But beyond having one of the top setting prospects in the nation and a slew of dangerous hitters, the Rebels can count on their versatility and experience, too. The hitters are strong defenders as well, and senior Kaitlyn Weimerskirch added seven assists to help when Ashburn needed to make the first touch on a ball.

“We’re pretty fortunate, we can do a lot of different things,” Yunker said. “That’s kind of our philosophy — we don’t want to have them stuck in this little role, because if something comes up, an injury or whatever else. Or even just if something’s going weird in a match, let’s switch it up and give them another look.”

Champlin Park is eying a fifth straight trip to state this year.

“I think we just have great chemistry from the start, and every day we have goals for ourselves,” Ashburn said. “I think we can do great things, we all think we can do great things. It’s just something we’ve got to work on every day.”