Was Apple Valley going to do it again?

One day after upsetting second-seeded East Ridge in the Class 4A quarterfinals in St. Paul, the Eagles took the first set against third-seeded Prior Lake in convincing fashion.

Apple Valley fell to Prior Lake earlier in the month, but that was when star middle blocker Ginny Gores was out with a concussion. This was a different ballgame.

“They definitely pushed us in ways that we hadn’t been pushed in a little while,” Lakers coach Mike Dean said.

But Prior Lake responded. The Lakers won the next three sets to claim a four-set semifinal victory and advance to play top-seeded Lakeville South in Saturday night’s final — the program’s first since 2015. The Lakers have never won state.

“I think we just stayed together and we really found ourselves and

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