Class 3 Final Four Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are four teams remaining in Class 3 and they are reading to get things going Thursday with high noon first serves. The champ is here...that is the defending state champion Blair Oaks. They are the lone team back from last year and many feel they are the favorites to bring home back-to-back state championships. Let's preview what's to take place this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ste. Genevieve (33-4-2) vs. Pleasant Hill (25-8)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ste. Genevieve will enter this contest on a five-match winning streak after only suffering four losses all season. A 3-1 win over Ursuline Academy earned them a spot in the final four. They are an impressive 15-0-2 in neutral sites, and this match is in a neutral site. The Dragons are led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240831' first='Dru' last='Koetting']'s </strong>520 kills offensively. The offense runs through her and as she goes, this team goes. <strong>Maya Watts </strong>has just under 600 digs to pace the back-row defense. Sophomore <strong>Sophia Huck</strong> has just under 500 assists on the year, as well as senior <strong>Devyn Basler</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pleasant Hill Chicks come in matching the five-match win streak of their opponents. They had to scratch and survive going five sets in both their sectional and quarterfinal match to earn a seat at the table. <strong>Abygail Widhalm</strong> and <strong>Gracie Layton </strong>are the primary weapons when the team attacks. This team is one of the stronger defensive teams we've seen this postseason and they will rely on their first pass and aggressiveness defensively to convert to high offensive output. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Do we have to pick? If so we think the offensive firepower of Ste. Genevieve may be too much. They have a few players who can light it up so if two are on, the Chicks are in trouble. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blair Oaks (32-3-1) vs. Eldon (24-13-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The teams have so many common opponents in the year. Blair Oaks is perfect, while five of Elden's thirteen defeats came to those opponents. Blair Oaks isn't perfect in neutral venues like Ste. Genevieve but they do only have one loss. We are well familiar with the line-up of the Falcons with players such as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='124226' first='Autumn' last='Bax'], [player_tooltip player_id='150054' first='Bailey' last='Braun'], </strong>and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='150016' first='Anna' last='Wekenborg']</strong> as offensive weapons. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='234314' first='Libby' last='Juergensmeyer']</strong> has been stellar this fall. Head Coach <strong>Megan Distler</strong> has developed a culture there where they will be prepared for battle out of the gate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs come in winners of six straight. A four-set win in the quarters has them in the big dance. Junior <strong>Jaci Mueller</strong> did the damage with 19 kills on 46 swings with only 5 errors. Freshman <strong>Audrey Dinwiddle</strong> was clutch with 12 kills of her own. In this match up expect <strong>Haley Henderson</strong> to play a role in attempting to keep the balls off the court. The key for Eldon will be not digging themselves a big hole. Blair Oaks smells blood in the water and being an experienced team, they don't how to seal the deal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: You sometimes want to go with the underdog but I can't, Blair Oaks is that good and played a schedule this year to prepare them for a shot at repeating. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->