Which Teams & Players Shined in the Blue Springs Tournament?
The Blue Springs South Tournament last weekend featured some of the top teams in both Missouri and Kansas, with some interesting results. Nixa took the tournament title, while Lafayette (Wildwood) took the Silver Bracket championship. Nixa’s performance on the day…
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Continue ReadingThe Blue Springs South Tournament last weekend featured some of the top teams in both Missouri and Kansas, with some interesting results. Nixa took the tournament title, while Lafayette (Wildwood) took the Silver Bracket championship.
Nixa’s performance on the day is arguably the most impressive of them all; the Eagles started the day 0-2, losing matches against Lafayette and St. James Academy of Kansas as part of the Blue Pool. They battled back to finish second in the pool, good enough to land in the Championship bracket. They then took out the likes of Lee’s Summit West and Park Hill South. Nixa’s biggest win of the day, however, was the title match against St. Theresa’s Academy where the Eagles squeaked out a win in two extremely tight sets, 26-24, 25-22.
Lafayette battled back from a third place finish in the Blue Pool to win the Silver bracket, with wins against Francis Howell, Lee’s Summit North and Cor Jesu. Park Hill South also came out of a tough Silver Pool unscathed, winning matches against St. Teresa’s, Cor Jesu Academy and St Dominic. The Panthers defeated Eureka in the first round of the Championship bracket before bowing out to Nixa in the semifinals.
There were many stellar individual performances on Saturday, but the players below had a particularly impressive day in Blue Springs.
Fixen – courtesy Hudl.comJaycee Fixen, Outside Hitter – Nixa
It’s not a huge stretch that the team leader in kills would have a solid tournament in Blue Springs. However, in looking at the Eagles’ roster, chock full of players who have already verbally committed to universities, the sophomore has made a name for herself in 2019. In Blue Springs, the outside hitter had 56 kills on the day – including 13 in a win against Lee’s Summit West and nine in the title match against St. Teresa’s.
Alex Dvorak, Middle – Park Hill South
Park Hill South came out on top of a tough Silver Pool with wins against Cor Jesu, St. Dominic and St. Teresa’s. Dvorak had a huge hand in that, averaging 5.5 kills per set, as well as 2.8 blocks. The sophomore was especially effective for the Panthers in the win against Eureka, where she had eight kills and four blocks.
Kristen Ford, Libero – St. Teresa’s Academy
The libero was special on Saturday, averaging six digs per set on the day. The senior had especially strong matches in wins against St. Thomas Aquinas (Kansas) and Kickapoo, where Ford had 18 and 21 digs, respectively. Ford also had five aces against Aquinas.
GurtizaAly Gurtiza, Defensive Specialist – Lee’s Summit West
Any defensive specialist who has 33 digs in a single match earns a spot on the list. Gurtiza did just that in a win against Liberty North on Saturday. LSW went undefeated in the Green Pool with wins against Francis Howell, Liberty North and Aquinas. The sophomore followed up the 33-dig match with a strong showing in the win against Aquinas, where she had 21 digs.
Lily Rogers, Setter – Cor Jesu Academy
Cor Jesu struggled a bit on Saturday, finishing third in the Silver Pool, but Rogers shined for the Chargers. In a tight match against Park Hill South, the senior had 28 assists and in the win against St. Dominic, Cor Jesu’s team captain had 20 assists.