Kansas 6A Substate Shawnee Mission Northwest Sites (Part 1)

The postseason is here and this will be my first go-around at covering Kansas postseason. If you are like me and new to the substate versions, then let's ponder together why it's called the Shawnee Mission Northwest sites and yet Northwest is not a host school. After talking to some colleagues and locals, the 4 "substates" are actually hosted by the higher-seeded teams in the four brackets or quadrants. Therefore the following Substates are based on their wins and losses record (winning percentage) as we have Olathe West at #1 (24-6), followed by #2 Olathe Northwest (25-7), #3 Mill Valley (28-8), and #4 Blue Valley (26-9).   I conducted a poll on my Twitter <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.x.com/prepdigmarshall" target="_blank">@PrepDigMarshall</a> for each respective Substate and will post their picks and predictions to see who will have a better record!   Olathe West Substate   Olathe West is the host for the first Substate and awaits the winner of the play-in match between Shawnee Mission West and Shawnee Mission South. Shawnee Mission West will take the play-in match with their ace in the hole in [player_tooltip player_id='150077' first='Reagan' last='Barth'] and setter [player_tooltip player_id='214674' first='Jordyn' last='Swanson']. Olathe West will have plenty of time scouting West's squad since they will play back-to-back. We will go with Olathe West to play in the substate final. Benedictine commit, [player_tooltip player_id='214648' first='Amber' last='Allen'], will orchestrate the Owls' hitters while [player_tooltip player_id='152833' first='Riley' last='Ourth'] and Carly Hain will be protecting the backline.   <figure class="wp-block-embed alignleft is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/11223768 </div></figure>   On the other side of the bracket will be the resurgence of the youth in Blue Valley West against an experienced squad of Olathe South. The Falcons' squad should be able to hang with the Jaguars as they have [player_tooltip player_id='150075' first='Jaya' last='Johnson'] (Creighton commit) and Coral Netten in the middle position. Don't forget junior [player_tooltip player_id='150066' first='Sara' last='Allmon'] on the outside and Taylor Neilsen as their setter. As long as Blue Valley West do not change too much of their lineups, they should take the match against Olathe South. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='173372' first='Lily' last='Wedman'] (734 assists during the season) is still taking charge setting their 5-1 offense. [player_tooltip player_id='173371' first='Ella' last='Davidson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='227605' first='Alex' last='Myers'] have been impactful as pin hitters while [player_tooltip player_id='216401' first='Ava' last='Hefner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='173397' first='Allison' last='Heck'] will protect the middle. Llibero [player_tooltip player_id='173395' first='Brookelyn' last='Hatton'] isn't too shabby either collecting 304 digs in the regular season. In the end, Blue Valley West offensive options will squeak them by to play the Owls in the substate final.   In the final, Olathe West have too much firepower behind Creighton commit, [player_tooltip player_id='120040' first='Ava' last='TeStrake'], and will take the substate title on their home court.   Prep Dig Marshall = Olathe West Twitter poll = Olathe West (44%), Blue Valley West (42%)   Olathe Northwest Substate   Similarly, Olathe Northwest will wait to play the winner of the play-in match between Shawnee Mission North and JC Harmon. According to KSHSAA, JC Harmon had 0 wins compared to North's 9 wins. We will take North to win the play-in match. Olathe Northwest should have no issue taking care of business in the first semifinal match and will be playing for a substate berth. The Ravens have Nebraska commit, [player_tooltip player_id='119707' first='Skyler' last='Pierce'], alongside Florida International commit, [player_tooltip player_id='119724' first='Jillian' last='Huckabey'] in their back pocket and may utilize [player_tooltip player_id='204106' first='Addie' last='Hashagen'] on the right side like they did at their home tournament a couple of weeks ago.   <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/11223771 </div></figure>   Blue Valley North and Shawnee Mission East will know their substate final opponent, however, they will have to battle on who will earn the right to be there. North's will have their setter/hitter duos in [player_tooltip player_id='119693' first='Janelle' last='Green'] and [player_tooltip player_id='154041' first='Logan' last='Parks']. Add in sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='173384' first='Jenna' last='McClure'] into the mix and you have the Mustangs top 3 hitters. As of MaxPreps stats, Parks (166), McClure (103), and Green (89) combined 358 kills is good for 74% of North's offensive output [stats was last updated on September 29 based on MaxPreps information]. Their last notable competition was this weekend against Blue Valley and Blue Valley Northwest, which they lost in 3 for both matches. Shawnee Mission East will feature, not one, not two, but three McDonald sisters. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='119812' first='Zoe' last='McDonald'] leads the charge out of the sisters with 150 kills. Don't forget about senior [player_tooltip player_id='152173' first='Rachel' last='Bingham'] (162 kills) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='152838' first='Anna' last='Alexander'] (155 kills) to round up the offense. However, Blue Valley North will take this matchup with a more experienced State returners.   The final between Olathe Northwest and Blue Valley North will have a State Final 8 feel. It's not fair that only one of these two teams will move on but it is what it is. Olathe Northwest is hungry to get to that next level and will make it to State this year.   Prep Dig Marshall = Olathe Northwest Twitter poll = Olathe Northwest (60%), Blue Valley North (40%)   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   Follow Twitter <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.x.com/prepdigmarshall" target="_blank">@PrepDigMarshall</a> to participate in the twitter poll! Use #KSpickemSubstate22 and #SubstatePickEm to find past, current, and future polls!

The postseason is here and this will be my first go-around at covering Kansas postseason. If you are like me and new to the substate versions, then let's ponder together why it's called the Shawnee Mission Northwest sites and yet Northwest is not a host school. After talking to some colleagues and locals, the 4 "substates" are actually hosted by the higher-seeded teams in the four brackets or quadrants. Therefore the following Substates are based on their wins and losses record (winning percentage) as we have Olathe West at #1 (24-6), followed by #2 Olathe Northwest (25-7), #3 Mill Valley (28-8), and #4 Blue Valley (26-9).