4A State Preview W/ Predictions

We are looking at the eight teams from 4A who punched their ticket into the state tournament, how they got there, players that have led them through their seasons, and make a prediction on who will come away with the title. Class 4A #1 Victory Christian vs #8 North Rock Creek NRC is in only their second season as an OSSAA program and has taken just as many trips to the state tournament. VC won handily against Douglas and CHA, while NRC beat Tecumseh and Tuttle to punch their tickets. North Rock Creek's two leaders so far have been Chloe Carter and Chloe Kasterke. They both can be a handful on the service line and they will need them to continue that to try and slow down VC’s offense. VC has been led by the OH duo of [player_tooltip player_id="144089" first="Hannah" last="Warlick"] and [player_tooltip player_id="144087" first="Bella" last="Wakley"]. The whole VC team has been in the state playoffs each year of their careers. They feel very comfortable here and will play tough like they have each year before. My prediction is that Victory will have too much hitting to be controlled and win in three in the first round of playoffs.   #2 Regent Prep vs #7 Heritage Hall Regent has been ranked #1 nearly all season until this past week. I think this will actually take some pressure off of them mentally and give them a little extra boost to meet Victory for the title. Regent got here via [player_tooltip player_id="144088" first="Beth" last="Bayless"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145983" first="Ella" last="Drake"] being too much to handle for Central and Dewey. They didn’t drop a set in either match, as predicted. This team is really good at both serve and serve receive, which sets up the rest of the game to be a little easier. Even if a team is able to get them out of system, they pride themselves on being a phenomenal out-of-system hitting team. Heritage Hall upset Inola at their place to punch their ticket. They played very scrappy defense and gave the ball to the left-handed Dominque Mathews early and often. It didn’t matter if she was front row or back row. She had plenty of touches, and at times, was the one that kept their momentum with a much-needed kill. The other two players that stepped up for the Chargers were Libero Katie Koch and OH Grace Shapard. My prediction is Heritage Hall gets a set early on but won't be able to sustain the pressure that’s needed to take down the Rams. Regent Rams win in four sets and move on to the semis. #3 Lincoln Christian vs #6 Catoosa This should be an interesting matchup. They met earlier this season and Lincoln won a close match in four sets. Both teams have taken a couple of lumps in the past month, but they have started to turn it on since then. Lincoln beat out OCS to make it to state, while Catoosa scooted by a tough Bethany team. I look forward to the matchup between Catoosa's Macie Wayne and Lincoln's Paiton Tuggle. Both can really be dynamic with their hits and mix up the shots they use. Both teams are no stranger to the state tournament and will know exactly what it will take to move on each round. My prediction is Lincoln gets the second win of the year over Catoosa on the year behind a hard-working defense. #4 Verdigris vs #5 Holland Hall The tightest matchup of the day is between the Dutchmen of Holland Hall and the Cardinals of Verdigris. Coach Horton has elevated Verdigris and they aren't looking to back down from anyone. Holland Hall is a blue blood in terms of going to state. Holland Hall beat out Weatherford and Oklahoma Bible to get into the final eight, while Verdigris went through Webster and Skiatook to earn their bid. Neither team lost a set in regionals but they almost surely will in this matchup. They met once before and Verdigris won in the 5th set in the closest match either team had played all season. They will both be pumped up for this match. Logan Hamilton for the Cardinals and Macey Collier for the Dutchmen will be the go-to players for both teams. My prediction is Coach Horton puts together a good game plan to find a way to close out the fifth set. Survive and advance is the name of the game and I think the Cardinals do that.