<p>We have mentioned we were a perfect 24-24 in our Kansas picks last week right? I don’t think we’ll have the same success this weekend because this thing is loaded! Let’s take a look at the teams and how they got here and make some bold predictions.</p>
<p><strong>Lansing Lions (34-1)</strong> is our top seed and winner of 34 in a row. They haven’t lost since August in their opening contest. They had minimal problems in substate, with the highest point total earned by an opponent being 14. [player_tooltip player_id="120076" first="Olivia" last="Mae Van Der Werff"] and [player_tooltip player_id="105646" first="Iyannah" last="Jackson"] combined for 14 of the 22 kills in the match against Shawnee Heights. [player_tooltip player_id="105685" first="Kamryn" last="Farris"] had 13 digs from the libero position. </p>
<p>The second seed is the defending state champion <strong>St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (34-3)</strong>. They have played one of the toughest schedules in the state and skated through with only 3 losses. They are the only team to beat Lansing this season. Like Lansing, they didn’t get much of a threat in their substate. Against Bonner Springs, [player_tooltip player_id="119689" first="Ava" last="Martin"] led the way with 10 kills. Kelsey Schenck tallied 16 assists. </p>
<p><strong>Spring Hill (30-6)</strong> grabs the third seed after a great season. They didn’t drop a set in their substate run. In their sweep of Basehor-Linwood, Keliah Rivers and [player_tooltip player_id="119712" first="Shannon" last="Frakes"] combined for 15 of the team’s 30 kills. Junior setter Daphne Gardner dished out 22 assists. </p>
<p><strong>Maize South (30-8)</strong> breaks up the North string of top seeds grabbing the fourth out of the South. They were perfect through two matches in their substate run. [player_tooltip player_id="153936" first="Jillian" last="Gregory"] and [player_tooltip player_id="119709" first="Gracie" last="Morrow"] had 8 kills apiece to pace the Mavericks. They now own an eight-game win streak heading into pool play. </p>
<p>Fifth seed <strong>St. James Academy (27-9)</strong> played in the one match we thought would be the closes to punch their ticket. The three-set barn burner with Mill Valley ended in a 25-22 victory. Senior middle [player_tooltip player_id="150200" first="Rachel" last="Ziesman"] has 11 kills in the contest. [player_tooltip player_id="152163" first="Lauren" last="Brown"] had 14 digs, while [player_tooltip player_id="150067" first="Heidi" last="Devers"] added 12. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="154039" first="Reese" last="Messer"] was proficient with 38 assists. </p>
<p><strong>Emporia</strong> will be the sixth seed entering with a 26-9 record. They scraped by Andover -20, -23 to get a seat at the table. </p>
<p><strong>Topeka Seaman (25-10)</strong> emerged as we expected to grab the seventh seed. They knocked off surprising 13 seed Maize, who upset Eisenhower. Their stats from their substate matches were not updated in Maxpreps. </p>
<p>The final party participant and the eighth seed will be <strong>Wichita Bishop Carroll (25-12)</strong>. We did predict them advancing from the sixth seed. They took down Valley Center by matching scores of -14, -14. Kenzie Dugan was unstoppable, averaging 7 kills per set to lead the charge. </p>
<p>Predictions:</p>
<p>Pool 1: Lansing, Maize South, St. James Academy, Bishop Carroll </p>
<p>Pool 2: St. Thomas Aquinas, Spring Hill, Emporia, Topeka Seaman</p>
<p>Advancing Pool 1: Lansing, St. James Academy</p>
<p>Advancing Pool 2: St. Thomas Aquinas, Spring Hill</p>
<p>Playoffs: Lansing over Spring Hill; St. Thomas Aquinas over St. James Academy</p>
<p>State Champion: Lansing...St. Thomas Aquinas...Lans...Aquin...We don’t know! Aquinas in 7!</p>
