Class 4A Final Peek
Class 4 was one of the tougher predictions for us to make in regards to the final 4. We had a good idea Andale would be there after the season we had. Outside of that, we thought any of the…
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Continue ReadingClass 4 was one of the tougher predictions for us to make in regards to the final 4. We had a good idea Andale would be there after the season we had. Outside of that, we thought any of the other 7 teams could make a case. We flashback and here is who we predicted to get to the last day.
We went with Andale and Mcpherson in one pool. The second one we said Labette County and Baldwin. Our blurry vision had Andale over Labette County for the state title. We were right with two out of four, including one of the semi-final matches with Andale facing Baldwin. The other two teams to make noise were Bishop Miege and Ottawa. We said in our last write up even though Miege was seeded eighth, teams can not take them for granted and they learned right away.
Semi-final number one featured the one we did get right in Andale versus Baldwin. After a 25-17 first set win, Andale dominated the second 25-9. Andale dropped their final set of pool play and was itching to get back on the court after the three-set thriller. McKenzie Fairchild McKenzie Fairchild 5'10" | MB Andale | 2023 State KS and Maddie Schrandt delivered 21 of the team’s 26 kills to punch their ticket to the championship match. Senior Annabeth Baalmann dished out 22 assists in the winning effort.
In the second match, Ottawa took down the perennial powerhouse Bishop Miege in straight sets -23, -19. A balanced attack led the Cyclones to victory with 4 players having at least five kills. Aleah Gollier paced the team with 8, followed by 7 from sophomore Emery Keebaugh. Senior libero Emma Stottlemire had 16 digs in the win.
The championship was a good ole school battle royal, with both teams exchanging blows throughout the contest. Set one saw Andale squeak out a 26-24 victory. Ottawa decided to pull out a close one themselves, winning the second 25-23. This set up the stage for an instant classic to 25. After some back and forth, Andale was able to inch ahead late in the set and claim the state title with a 25-21 win. The same names that showed up in the semis took their games up another level in the championship. Fairchild delivered 20 kills, along with 15 from Schrandt. 35 of the 37 kills came off of their arms. On the other side, Keenbaugh went for 15 kills and Gollier added 10 in the losing effort.
The 3rd place match saw Bishop MIege defeat Baldwin in straight sets to take home more hardware.