In less than three weeks, the high school fall sports season begins.

Hard to believe, isn’t it.

It seems like just yesterday the Butler baseball team was playing in blizzard conditions at Kelly Automotive Park and now we are on the cusp of another high school sports season.

And this fall one is shaping up to be very intriguing.

There’s a slew of juicy storylines on tap in football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball, golf and girls tennis.

Here are a few things I’m interesting in seeing play out when the heat of summer turns into the chill of autumn:

What can the Knoch and Freeport girls volleyball teams possibly do for an encore?

Last year, both the Knights and Yellowjackets made prodigious postseason runs, culminating with state titles.

That’s certainly a tough act to follow.

Yet both teams seem poised to put up a pretty staunch defense of their titles.

Knoch will have to overcome the graduation losses of Sarah Armahizer, Abby Kopac, Abby Pospisil, Makenzie McDowell, Bethany Nulph and Carly Bozzo. They were all key contributors for a team that went 24-0.

But the Knights also return a slew of burgeoning stars led by junior Hannah Rowe, who made a huge impact as a hitter in tandem with Armahizer.

Meanwhile Freeport will also have to find a way to replace stars like Claire Crytzer, Courtney Grubbs, Hannah Mason and Ashley Sullivan.

The Yellowjackets had a deep roster last season and will return standouts such as senior Ally DeJidas, who was a monster in the state final match.

Watching these two teams try to defend their titles will be enthralling.

New faces.

For the first time in 18 years, Ed Conto will no longer roam the sidelines as the Karns City football coach.

Joe Sherwin takes over for Conto, who compiled a 167-52 record during his tenure with the Gremlins.

Karns City is currently on a streak of six consecutive district titles.

That’s some pretty big shoes to fill for Sherwin, who was a longtime assistant under Conto.

What will the Karns City football team look like under a new coach? Probably not unlike the Gremlins under Conto.

At Butler, Eric Christy gets his first full-season as the head football coach. Christy took over late last season after Rob Densmore unexpectedly resigned.

Christy is a young coach and is also a teacher in the district — the first head football coach at Butler in more than a decade to have that distinction.

Is he what the Golden Tornado need to take a step forward?

He may just be.

How good can Laura Greb be?

As a freshman at Knoch last season, Greb won the WPIAL Class AA singles championship and reached the PIAA title match, where she fell to Bethlehem Catholic’s Brenna Magliochetti.

Greb is regarded as one of the best players in the state. It’s going to be fun watching her chase a state title again this season — and for two more years.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.