St. Francis Borgia Tournament Preview.

The annual St. Francis Borgia Tournament is on Saturday, and this tournament never disappoints. Gone from this year’s edition is the Class 4 State Champions Willard. Last year’s tournament champions are the host Knights. Also in the field is Class 4 state runner-up Parkway West, Class 5 state 3rd place Borgia, and Class 5 state 4th place finisher St. Dominic. Let’s get right to the pool previews.   Gold Pool <ol> <li>St. Dominic 3-1</li> </ol> The Crusaders should win this pool and move on to the semifinals. The only loss so far is to Borgia. With 6’0 [player_tooltip player_id="123471" first="Emma" last="Blaine"] leading things out of the middle this year and racking up 15 blocks so far, the Crusaders are again in the title hunt. Toss in sweet setter [player_tooltip player_id="102453" first="Rachel" last="Schipper"] and her 59 assists; juniors Riley Robertson and Anna Kohmetscher and Schipper have plenty of power to feed the balls. <ol> <li>Parkway West 3-1</li> </ol> The Longhorns never disappoint and have reloaded for another strong season. Coming off a 2nd place finish in Class 4 last year and moved up to Class 5 this year. With starters of Elise Frost taking more swings this year, Cece Watts, a joy to watch, came off the bench last year in the state playoffs and played tremendous defense for the Longhorns. Hitters taking open spot left to graduation is Lauren Beach, sophomores Madeline Jennings and Abby Vogelgesang. These three have combined for 67 kills this season. <ol> <li>Francis Howell Central 4-1-2</li> </ol> With [player_tooltip player_id="41768" first="Elexus" last="Pearson"] lost to graduation, another Pearson comes in to help fill the void so younger sister LaShae Pearson will fill her sister’s shoes. Mix in underclassmen Faith Rekosh and [player_tooltip player_id="153933" first="Jordan" last="Smith"], and the Spartans should be tough to contend with for the next couple of years. These three have combined for 128 of the 169 team kills. <ol> <li>Washington 1-2</li> </ol> The Bluejays struggled last year compared to the school’s volleyball history. They do return critical players in Jessie Tovo and Ingrid Figas. Newcomer Ella Kroeter will help provide a need punch at the net to keep Washington alive come playoffs. Look for St. Dominic and Parkway West to finish 1 and 2 in this pool, respectively.   Blue Pool <ol> <li>St. Francis Borgia 5-0</li> </ol> Last year’s Class 5 3rd place team and returning Borgia tournament champions haven’t missed a beat so far. With right side, [player_tooltip player_id="119218" first="Lily" last="Brown"] hitting a mean line shot, Kaitlyn Patke and Lynsey Batson taking up the middle, and libero Lauren Nieder these three are vital in getting Borgia back into the championship match. Most know about outside [player_tooltip player_id="41802" first="Ella" last="Brinkmann"], setter [player_tooltip player_id="41798" first="Annie" last="Arand"], and outside [player_tooltip player_id="150000" first="Caroline" last="Glastetter"] the other four will need enormous contributions to keep Borgia rolling. Last year’s crutch for Borgia was passing and defense but seemed to have improved. <ol> <li>Timberland 1-2</li> </ol> [player_tooltip player_id="41811" first="Carly" last="Glendinning"] does it all for the Wolves. She is a point-scoring machine for them, and I see why the kid is one of Missouri’s best seniors. She hits on the outside and is a six rotation player and does it all very well for the 6’2 powerful frame—great arm swing, calling for the ball after every pass, and putting up a tremendous block. I can’t wait to see this kid play again this weekend. If the Wolves can get other more production to help Carly, they will be tough to beat. Lost to Parkway West in 5, so a match in the tournament would be excellent. <ol> <li>Westminster 4-3-1</li> </ol> With seven players standing 5’11 or taller, look for Wildcats to put up a big block. With 6’1 lefty right-side, Alli Bishop crushing line shots, 5’10 [player_tooltip player_id="152141" first="Emma" last="Fairchild"] adding to the big blocking right side, this seems to be where the Wildcats are the strongest. Put in 6’1 middle Lexie Vick, then getting all-around play from junior outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id="152125" first="Shelby" last="Truitt"] and [player_tooltip player_id="123657" first="Abigail" last="Siess"] Westminster might surprise more teams this year. <ol> <li>Lutheran South 4-0</li> </ol> Tradition-rich Lutheran South did not have much a year last season, only going 4-7 in a season cut short. But they do return their big gun in middle [player_tooltip player_id="101700" first="Elise" last="Paul"], who finished last year with 86 kills as a sophomore. Not enough info out yet on the Lancers to determine how solid they will be. My picks for Blue Pool are Borgia and Timberland to finish 1 and 2 in the pool, respectively.   Semifinals 1 St. Dominic versus Timberland 2-0 The Crusaders are too much of a whole team and should sweep Timberland in the semifinals. [player_tooltip player_id="123471" first="Emma" last="Blaine"], Kayla Robertson, and [player_tooltip player_id="119185" first="Breanna" last="Schreimann"] are doing the damage at the net, and [player_tooltip player_id="102453" first="Rachel" last="Schipper"] has more options to spread the ball to St. Dominic should overwhelm the Wolves in semifinal #1. Borgia versus Parkway West 2-0 Borgia is another team with weapons all over the place. If one doesn’t have a solid match, four other hitters can put the ball down just about any time needed. Look for [player_tooltip player_id="41802" first="Ella" last="Brinkmann"] to carry the Knights back into the title match with a sweep of Parkway West. Don’t get me wrong, Parkway West has talent all over the court, but the seniors from Borgia will get it done in semifinal 2.     Championship Borgia versus St. Dominic 2-1 This matchup over the last couple of years has become a heated rivalry. With St. Dominic taking the season matchups last year over Borgia and then Borgia knocking off their conference rival to win 3rd at the state tourney last year. I’m sure no love is lost when these two lock horns. In the earlier meeting, Borgia took a 3-1 win, but St. Dominic got solid contributions from [player_tooltip player_id="123471" first="Emma" last="Blaine"], and Kayla Robertson out of the middle with 10 kills each. [player_tooltip player_id="119185" first="Breanna" last="Schreimann"] added nice and Anna Kohmetscher added seven. [player_tooltip player_id="102453" first="Rachel" last="Schipper"] dished out 32 assists, and Mary Katherine Mulvaney was the dig leader with 20. Borgia countered with [player_tooltip player_id="41802" first="Ella" last="Brinkmann"]s 25 kills and [player_tooltip player_id="150000" first="Caroline" last="Glastetter"]s 9 for the Knights outside hitters. Right-side [player_tooltip player_id="119218" first="Lily" last="Brown"] put down eight, and middle Kaitlyn Patke had eight kills and six blocks. Borgia 57 kills St. Dominic 42 kills, Borgia out blocked St. Dominic 13-11, St. Dominic had two more digs at 67-65, and [player_tooltip player_id="41798" first="Annie" last="Arand"] dished out 48 assists.   Another slugfest between these conference rivals, and I see Borgia getting the best of St. Dominic in a 2-1 win.