Class 5 Sectionals Quarterfinal 3 and 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The newest biggest game of the season has arrived for these four teams ready to battle it out for a spot in the final four next weekend. One last sleep before they pull up the knee pads and take the court in Liberty and Springfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Quarterfinal 3</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Bridge (26-5) vs. Kickapoo (25-8) - 3:00 PM</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams faced off the first weekend of the season with <strong>Rock Bridge</strong> walking away with a 2-set sweep. The Bruins have no "bad losses" on the year, with one of those teams being another quarterfinal participant Liberty North. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='101566' first='Ella' last='Swindle']</strong> is the setter we all know about. She has the ability to affect the match in many facets with her sets, dumps, and blocking abilities. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119220' first='Lily' last='Dudley']</strong> leads the offensive onslaught on the pin and has 355 kills on the year. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='184887' first='Kaylen' last='Rush']</strong> has been impressive in the back row with 310 digs and over 200 receptions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the other side of the net, host <strong>Kickapoo</strong> is up for the challenge. They enter the contest winners of 7 in a row. They have a common defeat with the before mentioned Liberty North team. This team has a little more balance offensively with three players averaging over 2 kills per set led by <strong>Grace Gardner</strong> and <strong>Bella Faria</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='493000' first='Hannah' last='Gardner']</strong> and <strong>Reagan Greenway</strong> team up in the setter position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: We will go with Rock Bridge making a return trip to Cape in four sets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinal 4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Teresa's Academy (16-11-1) at Liberty North (29-5) - 3:00 PM</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are not shocked to see <strong>St. Teresa's</strong> and their 11 losses in this round. They play a schedule that prepares them for this moment and they prevailed knocking out Lee's Summit West in four sets. We knew the team has the firepower on the pin with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='101697' first='Reagan' last='Fox']</strong>, who dropped 24 digs in the victory. If she has the supporting cast of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219742' first='Isabel' last='Glover'], Margot Randall, [player_tooltip player_id='216417' first='Piper' last='Newton']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219776' first='Madeline' last='Sallee']</strong> all clicking, they can be very good. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='123468' first='Brynne' last='McGhie'] </strong>dished out 48 assists in their district title match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Liberty North</strong> delivered a statement win in sweeping cross-town rival and state contender Liberty for a district title. This writer made the claim weeks ago <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119226' first='Carlie' last='Cisneros']</strong> is the best player in Kansas City and she continues to make me look good. As we mentioned in the Quarterfinal 3 preview, the Eagles have a lot of quality wins on the season against some great teams across the state. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='152148' first='Rory' last='Stanley']</strong> and <strong>Mak Miller</strong> could be the difference makers offensively in this match. Also, keep your eye on the decision-making of setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='152821' first='Lauren' last='Wright']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153934' first='Emma' last='Christian']</strong>. These two have been good all year in big pressure moments all season, will they keep that mojo going in the biggest game of the year? We think so and to our prediction...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: We like Liberty North. Both teams are actually very strong defensively. Both teams can score out of system. Both teams have really good setters. The difference will be the supporting cast and we like the Eagles bunch in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->