Spectrum St. James Volleyball Slam Recap

<p>I’m learning from my friends at Spectrum the St. James gymnasium was rocking Saturday for the annual volleyball slam hosted at St. James in partnership with Spectrum Sports KC. I would have loved to be in the building but I had the proud opportunity to watch my daughter in her first college volleyball matches! I was periodically checking social media and staying in the loop. I’ve been able to catch some highlights but not full matches. Also, I haven’t had the chance to get a good glimpse of performances as some team’s stats haven’t been uploaded. With that being the case, this is what I do know up to this point. COACHES: We love to write about your teams and athletes. We know your schedule is busy but at your earliest convenience please upload stats to Maxpreps or send them to prepdigmo@gmail.com after your matches. </p> <p><strong>Shawnee Mission East vs. Gardner</strong></p> <p>In our preview, we gave Gardner the slight advantage as both teams are what I consider young in experience. I went with Gardner due to [player_tooltip player_id="105644" first="Jaylyne" last="Bell"] and she didn’t disappoint with 9 kills and 4 aces in the three-set victory. The first two sets were back and forth with East grabbing the first 28-26 and Gardner stealing the second 26-24. The Trailblazers created enough distance in the final set to win 25-20. We discussed the setter role being pivotal in entering the match. Kailana Chamnongchith and Rylieght Sander combined for 19 assists in the contest. </p> <p><strong>Mill Valley vs. Blue Valley</strong></p> <p>Mill Valley earned the sweep 25-16, 25-22. In the clips we did see, [player_tooltip player_id="120027" first="Sidney" last="Kacsir"] was stellar in the back row. Mill Valley looks to have many scoring threats with [player_tooltip player_id="150198" first="Brylee" last="Peterson"], [player_tooltip player_id="150197" first="Taylor" last="Roberts"], and [player_tooltip player_id="153938" first="Saida" last="Jacobs"].</p> <p><strong>Olathe East vs. Blue Valley Northwest</strong></p> <p>Blue Valley Northwest gets the sweep 25-23, 25-14. The only highlights we saw featured East and Chloe Tyrrell looked to have a strong day for the Hawks. </p> <p><strong>Lee’s Summit West vs. Blue Valley North</strong></p> <p>A match-up we thought would be tight and a pick-em was a good one to take in. Blue Valley North wins 25-19, 25-23. No stats for highlights for North but for the Titans, Kenzie Kennicutt, [player_tooltip player_id="41813" first="Sydney" last="Handel"], and [player_tooltip player_id="119193" first="Kaelyn" last="McDonald"] look strong. </p> <p><strong>St. Teresa’s vs. Blue Valley West</strong></p> <p>Blue Valley West was one of the teams we were looking forward to seeing how they opened up the year as the reigning state champions in Kansas 6A. The question was who would fill the setting role left open and it looks like Lily Wedman stepped in and held her own. She finished the day with 19 assists to go with 12 Digs. [player_tooltip player_id="120079" first="Brooke" last="Leiker"] paved the way with 9 kills and [player_tooltip player_id="123099" first="Morgan" last="Colangelo"] had 15 digs. Blue Valley West earned the sweep, -21, -19.</p> <p><strong>Liberty North vs. Washburn Rural</strong></p> <p>This was our match of the day coming into the event. Weapons on both sides. A three-set barn burner took place and this is one of the matches we look forward to checking it out in its entirety this week. We heard [player_tooltip player_id="120008" first="Brooklyn" last="DeLeye"] was magical on the Washburn Rural side of the net as they won the first, 25-21. The defending Class 5 state champs weren’t going to just lay down and came back to grab the second 25-23. The third set was one for the ages with Rural grabbing it 28-26. [player_tooltip player_id="119226" first="Carlie" last="Cisneros"] started where she left out last fall, dominant! She paced North with 18 kills. Junior Abby Christian served up 3 aces and finished with 25 digs.</p> <p><strong>St. Thomas Aquinas vs Lansing</strong></p> <p>The Saints won the match in impressive form behind the arm of [player_tooltip player_id="119689" first="Ava" last="Martin"]’s nine kills. [player_tooltip player_id="119692" first="Sophia" last="Bond"] and Kelsey Schenck combined for 21 assists running the offense. Saints 25-17, 25-15.</p> <p><strong>Olathe Northwest vs. St. James</strong></p> <p>We picked Northwest winning this match due to the firepower they had returning at the net. St. James said not so fast my friend, handing Northwest their first loss of the season in a sweep, -22, -21. [player_tooltip player_id="119707" first="Skyler" last="Pierce"] led Northwest with 7 kills.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>