The Lakers graduated five seniors, most of whom played along the front line.

"We have a good group back from last year," said Lakers coach Mike Dean, whose team finished 23-6 overall last season, 7-2 in the South Suburban Conference. "We have some young kids, who are hungry and can step in and contribute. There's a learning curve at the varsity level, getting used to the speed of the game and finding out what it takes to win at this level."

Juniors Lara Schultz and Ella Francis are expected to lead the Lakers on the front line, along with junior Olivia Spanton. Francis led the team last year in kills per match (10.6), while Schultz was No. 2 (8.9).

Meanwhile, in the back row, there's senior Brittany Luethmers, who is entering her fifth varsity season. She's already the program's all-time digs leader (1,505), including 441 last year.

Joining Luethmers on the back row will be junior Olivia Sudlow and senior Olivia Ferrer and Shannah Carter. Junior Sammi Pratt is expected to open the season as the No. 1 setter, while sophomore Ellie Veldman is in the mix.

Others expected to have roles are ninth-graders CC McGraw and Kayla Bair and sophomore Anna Martin.

The SSC got a littler tougher this fall with the addition of Farmington and Shakopee, while the two Bloomington teams left for the new Metro West Conference.

Section 2AA is also loaded with the likes of Chaska and Delano leading the way. Chaska is ranked No. 1 in the state in the Class 3A preseason poll, while Delano, last year's state runner-up, is No. 4.

Shakopee, Chanhassen, Waconia are also strong programs.

In the SSC, Eagan, the defending state champion and ranked No. 2 to open the season, is the team to beat, along with No. 7 Lakeville South.

"Our conference is strong and our section is tough," said Dean. "It never gets easy. There were some big names from our conference and section who graduated, but there are always new ones coming up."

"For us, it comes do to winning the serve-receive battles," added Dean. "And can we pass to set up our offense? We're a year older and more mature, but so is everyone else. We're hoping to come together as a group. We have a lot of competition for spots, but that's a good problem to have."

The Lakers open the season on the road at Owatonna Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. Prior Lake will take on Chanhassen at Hopkins High School Aug. 23 at 3 p.m. as part of the Side Out Classic.

For more info, go to: http://www.breakdownsportsusa.com/page/show/1095322-side-out-classic.

Prior Lake's home opener is set for Aug. 28 at home versus Chaska at 4:30 p.m. The Lakers' first SSC match is at Rosemount Sept. 9. It's first conference home match is Sept. 11 versus Eagan.