Kansas 6A State Previews and Predictions

This will be my first time covering Kansas State Volleyball competition as I am adjusting to how the whole playoff system works! The 6A substate was tough. Most top seeds held their own while some sites had upsets to create an interesting yet exciting State matchups. We were correct predicting 5 out of 8 Substate winners so we'll add some synopsis on 3 "underdogs" competing in Salina on October 28th and 29th.   The 8 teams competing will be split up to 2 pools of 4, with the top 2 advancing to the semifinal match the next day. The winners move on to play in the Championship match while the losing team will play in a consolation match. To make it simpler than the State "seedings", we'll put the two respective pools separated right away.   Pool 1 (seed) team name [record] (1) Topeka - Washburn Rural [40-1] (4) Liberal [27-8] (5) OP - Blue Valley [28-9] (8) OP - Blue Valley West [23-12]   We'll go to Pool 1, with the top-seed Washburn Rural trying to avenge last year's seminal loss to Blue Valley West (it was their first loss all season) in their first match of pool play. Their sole loss this season is to 5A perennial powerhouse St James Academy back in August. Since then, Rural have been dominant dropping 2 sets all season, en route of their 39-match winning streak. Their leader is Kansas Gatorade Player of The Year in [player_tooltip player_id='120008' first='Brooklyn' last='DeLeye'], who is committed to Kentucky. Their other pin hitter is [player_tooltip player_id='120044' first='Taylor' last='Russell'], who announced her commitment to Missouri Western State University this past week. Their setter, [player_tooltip player_id='119699' first='Zoe' last='Canfield'], is going to play for Kansas Women's basketball team. If that's not enough athleticism for you, [player_tooltip player_id='201027' first='Jada' last='Ingram'] will create havoc through the middle for the Blues. They dominated their substate competition, outscoring their opponents, 100 - 35.   In the "Second seed", Liberal will look for senior Rylie Hallman to take over the offensive responsibility. Hallman recorded 18 kills during Substate, hitting a cool 0.432 on the day. New to our attention will be freshman middle, Shamari Lewis, who led the team in total blocks, 8, during their substate competition. As mentioned during our substate preview, they'll look for libero Diana “Lizzy” Cisneros to provide the necessary defensive presence and as a primary passer.   We head up north to Overland Park's Blue Valley as the third seed. We know about [player_tooltip player_id='152172' first='Julia' last='Kinney'] and [player_tooltip player_id='152168' first='Avery' last='Delong'] from the substate preview as Blue Valley primary hitters (they had 12 kills each during Substate). We did mention that the X-Factor will be [player_tooltip player_id='214643' first='Brooklyn' last='Farris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='152162' first='Connelly' last='Kilgore'] if they'll have the monumental points, and boy did they deliver during substate. Both Kilgore and Farris had 9 kills in 16 swings each. Talk about being on the same wavelength! Previously I mentioned that Kate Peterson ran towards the bleacher in Blue Valley's match against Blue Valley Southwest and thought she was okay. Unfortunately that collision snowballed into a major injury and she will be out at the State tournament. No need to worry because Tori Gelles filled in the setting role quite nicely with her 23- and 22- assists performance during substate. Don't forget about their Purdue-commit libero in [player_tooltip player_id='150068' first='Ryan' last='McAleer'] anchoring their defense.   Lastly with the number 4 seed in Pool 1 and 8th overall, is last year's state runner-up in Blue Valley West. The battle-tested Jaguars is ready to take on the challenges of pool 1. They have the necessary personnel to make a run to do well this upcoming weekend. At the helms of the offense, is their 5-1 setter in [player_tooltip player_id='173372' first='Lily' last='Wedman']. Always a double-threat especially when she's in the front row, Wedman spread the love to all of her hitters. Ladies and Gentlemen, we introduce you to a star-being born in [player_tooltip player_id='216385' first='Katrina' last='Whitehouse'], who led the Jaguars take down the number 1 seed in Olathe West at their home court. Whitehouse's 14 kills was the team-high and her last one sealed the deal in the 25-23 deciding set victory. In the end, West have multiple hitters that will contribute to their success this weekend.   Predictions   Will Pool 1 will be the race for second place as we do not see Rural to lose any more matches this season or will it Blue Valley West "revenge tour" of knocking off all the teams that beat them this year?   Pool 1: Washburn Rural, Blue Valley West, Blue Valley, Liberal   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   Pool 2 (seed) team name [record] (2) Wichita Northwest [33-4] (3) Shawnee-Mill Valley [30-8] (6) OP - Blue Valley North [23-10] (7) Lawrence-Free State [25-12]   Pool 2 first seed and #2 overall is our friend from Wichita in Northwest High School. They return to State after their back-to-back-to-back substate championships. Their stats on MaxPreps is not updated from the substate matches but we do know about their libero [player_tooltip player_id='120021' first='Payton' last='Benoit'], who recently committed to UMKC. Their latest update on hitters would be [player_tooltip player_id='214640' first='Grace' last='Dickerson'], Nina Mitchell, and [player_tooltip player_id='214641' first='Alexandra' last='Workman']. They did not play any of the State qualifying teams from their pool but Northwest did play and lost to Washburn Rural in early October.   Mill Valley defended their home court during substate with a 3-set victory over Blue Valley Northwest. Their stats are not updated yet on MaxPreps since our substate preview so we'll go back to what we know. They'll rely on their 6-2 dynamic duos in freshman [player_tooltip player_id='154038' first='Ella' last='Florez'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='216374' first='Ava' last='Jones']. Florez do stay in the front row to be a right-side hitter and is the third leading hitter for the Jaguars. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='152830' first='Kaitlyn' last='Burke'] has provided an offensive spark for Mill Valley with her fast-twitch arm as she is efficient in a pass-to-attack formation. Mill Valley is on a hot streak; Their last regular season loss was to Blue Valley North in a 3-set battle.   The defending state champion Blue Valley North was the "underdog" in their substate, and upset host Olathe Northwest in 3 thrilling sets. Their go-to duos are junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='119693' first='Janelle' last='Green'] (Cincinnati commit) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='154041' first='Logan' last='Parks']. Both of them were instrumental in their substate finishes as Green ran the 5-1 offense and Parks utilized primarily as an offensive threat. [player_tooltip player_id='173384' first='Jenna' last='McClure'] added some kills and blocks on her own. While we talk about offense, their defensive back row was complimented by [player_tooltip player_id='152832' first='Felicia' last='Wu'] and libero [player_tooltip player_id='120030' first='Nora' last='Carlsen']. The Mustangs defeated Mill Valley and Free State In their only meetings against the teams (both were 3-set matches).   Free State is the 4th seed in Pool 2 and the 7th overall in the Kansas 6A State finals. As mentioned during the substate preview, Free State will have ample opportunities with their offensive options. [player_tooltip player_id='120010' first='Sawyer' last='Thomsen'], California commit, will be utilized in multiple plays for the Firebirds. Look for her to run some slides when paired up with [player_tooltip player_id='120033' first='Rylee' last='Unruh'] (Washburn commit) in the front row. Freshman Annika Lintceum has filled in nicely with the squad . In the pins, they still have Myla Nover-Estes and [player_tooltip player_id='150069' first='Fiona' last='VanDyke']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/fiona-vandyke/"></a> to round up the offense. Senior libero Maddie Powell will be called up to anchor the defense for the Firebirds.   Predictions   If Pool 1 was a pool of death, then Pool 2 is the pool of tiebreaker possibilities. Their regular season record won't matter so we'll see how they competed against tough opponents.   Pool 2: 3-way tie for first with Blue Valley North, Mill Valley, and Free State. Tie-breaker will go to Blue Valley North (5-2 sets), Mill Valley (4-2), Free State (4-3) set percentage.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   Semifinals   Washburn Rural vs Mill Valley Blue Valley North vs Blue Valley West   Championship   Blue Valley West vs Washburn Rural   Kansas 6A Volleyball State Champion: Washburn Rural   <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/jenna-mcclure/"></a>

This will be my first time covering Kansas State Volleyball competition as I am adjusting to how the whole playoff system works! The 6A substate was tough. Most top seeds held their own while some sites had upsets to create an interesting yet exciting State matchups. We were correct predicting 5 out of 8 Substate winners so we'll add some synopsis on 3 "underdogs" competing in Salina on October 28th and 29th.