Class 1 early season rankings.

<p>With the Class 1 district assignments finally released by MSHSAA this week, I wanted to look at some of the teams who might be in the top ten early season rankings. I look at the strength of schedule and strength of schedule of your opponents this early in the season. </p> <p>1. Advance 7-0</p> <p>The two time defending state champs are right back at it.  Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="41785" first="Nyah" last="Wilson"], Mikayla Mikels, Meadow Morse, and [player_tooltip player_id="41758" first="Alyssa" last="Miles"] end their careers with three rings. The chances of this are incredibly high.</p> <p>2. Midway 4-0</p> <p>With a 3-1 victory over Santa Fe and a 3-2 win over KC Lutheran, the Vikings move up to 2. Bailey Russ and Morgan Irvin putting the balls down, and Jessie Humbird dishing the assist, Midway is off and running.</p> <p>3. St Joseph Christian 13-0</p> <p>Seniors Brooklyn Miller and Tori Hudgens have the Lions roaring out of the gates of far. With 280 kills between them, they are leading the pride to the early season undefeated record. More vigorous opponents in the weeks to come will tell if this team is for real.</p> <p>4. Lesterville 10-2-1</p> <p>Bearcats are having another strong season. This weekend will be a real test for the small school as they enter the Jackson tournament. A date with Advance and Valle Catholic wait, [player_tooltip player_id="41797" first="Mallory" last="Polk"], Reese Gray, Piper Fitzgerald, and Grace Hicks in pool play.</p> <p>5. Winona 4-7-1</p> <p>I know the record isn’t excellent but follow me here. Lost to Licking, Cabool, Branson, Blair Oaks, Liberty, Rogersville, Helias, but beat Sacred Heart, a solid Class 1 team. Seven defeats to 7 schools much bigger than the Wildcats. Nevaeh Malawey and Cloey Asplin lead a bunch of freshmen and sophomores.</p> <p>6. Sacred Heart 7-4-1</p> <p>Emma Siron and Kiley Beykirch are taking the Gremlins on their shoulders this year and being successful.  They fall below Winona after taking a 26-24, 23-25, 20-25 defeat to the Wildcats. A date with district foe Santa Fe on September 30^th will see how strong they are on the West side of Missouri.</p> <p>7. Santa Fe 4-2</p> <p>Not the typical start for the Class 1 runner ups to start the season, but it’s just about to heat up. With a loss to Midway and then dates with Sacred Heart, Concordia, KC Lutheran, and Crest Ridge, Isabella Limback will need some help at the net. </p> <p>8. Bernie 7-2</p> <p>This traditional small-school power has lost to Advance 3-0 and Dexter. We’ll see how they fare this weekend at the Jackson tournament.</p> <p>9. Archie 7-2</p> <p>The Whirlwinds are making some noise so far this season. With Emma Mcintire, Chesnie Baker, and Emma Thompson making the ball pop in the front row and Emily Hopkins feeding the assist, Archie looks to keep the trend going.</p> <p>10. Crest Ridge 6-3</p> <p>Reagan Shippy is doing all she can to keep the Cougars in the playoff hunt. Early season losses to Sacred Heart 0-3 and Archie 0-3 isn’t all that bad at this point in the season. Look for a matchup with Concordia, KC Lutheran, and Santa Fe to see how robust Crest Ridge will be.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>