Division 3 Dark Horses Rise From Regionals

<p>Some sectionals (32 teams in divisions 2-4) are seeded by the region (1-8) and others are seeded by the whole half of the section (1-16).  The coaches involved in the sectionals are usually polled to find out what they would prefer.  Some wonder what the difference is?  One factor is travel distance.  If you choose to seed by your half of the sectional, the lower seeds may end up traveling a bit farther throughout regional action. </p> <p>Sectional sites are determined far ahead of time, so those aren’t affected.  Another question coaches have to ask themselves is whether they want the best teams meeting in Sectional action?  Some regionals are a lot stronger than others, and personally, I think its disappointing when your regional final is much tougher than either of your sectional matches.  I’ve seen too many teams get knocked out in regional action when they are a top 4 team in the state and should have at least been in the sectional action instead of meeting one of the top 2 teams in the state in regional action.  Either way, the fun part about playoffs is those dark horses that turn the tournament upside down and keep us guessing.</p> <p><strong><u>Sectional 1 –</u></strong></p> <p><strong>#3 Saint Croix Falls (19-8)</strong></p> <p>The Saints had to battle to get to the Regional Final match, and when they did, they defeated #2 Clear Lake in 4 sets (25-17, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19).  The Saints will take on #1 Grantsburg (29-5) on Thursday.  These two have met twice before, with Falls winning in 5 sets in mid-September and Grantsburg returning the favor beating the Saints in 4 sets in the beginning of October. </p> <p>The Saints are led by <strong>Sidney Hoverman </strong>(2020 – 6’0 – Outside Hitter), <strong>Olivia Miron </strong>(2021 – Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter), and <strong>Caitlin Carsley </strong>(2019 – 5’7 – Setter).  Carsley provides the main threat at the service line with 70 aces so far this season.  She also averages almost 7 assists in the Saints’ 6-2.  </p> <p>Hoverman averages over 6 kills per set, and Miron provides the number 2 punch with almost 3 kills per set.  Miron controls the net with 86 blocks so far this season.  This offense will have a big challenge when up against <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33081" first="Jenna" last="McNally"] </strong>(2019 – 5’3 – Libero) and the Pirate defense.  McNally currently averages over 5 digs per set.  History shows us this should be a great match!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>#2 Regis (22-8)</strong></p> <p>This half of the sectional decided to seed separately, and Regis was the #2 seed behind #1 Colfax.  Regis defeated Colfax in a great 5-set showdown on Saturday (22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21, 15-13).  Colfax was led by <strong>Samantha Pretasky </strong>(2020 – 5’9 – Middle Blocker), who had 14 kills, 9 blocks, and 4 aces. </p> <p><strong>Jozie Buchanan</strong> (2020 – 5’4 – Setter/Outside Hitter) also had a solid night, recording a triple double while contributing 27 assists, 20 digs, 11 kills, and 5 aces.  Regis has a senior-heavy roster with seven 2019s fighting to keep their final season going.  The Ramblers are led by senior setter, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33087" first="Grace" last="Gilles"]</strong>, who has plenty of experience under pressure with 4 years on a competitive Rambler squad and a season competing on the Wisconsin Ice 18 National team in 2018. </p> <p>Next up for Regis is #1 Aquinas (29-3).  In mid-September Aquinas defeated Regis 2-1.  Aquinas’ offense is run by <strong>Taylor Theusch</strong> (2020 – 5’7 – Setter) as she averages almost 7 assists per set.  Their defense is anchored by <strong>Megan Scheidt </strong>(2019 – 5’4 – Libero), who averages over 5 digs per set. This match-up will not disappoint.</p>