Kansas 5A State Recap: The Saints came marching

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Thomas Aquinas was the top team in our first KC Metro Power 15 rankings to start the season. We said when we announced our rankings, "Other teams may have better overall talent, this team has very good players at every position." That statement proved true behind the play of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='150076' first='Betsy' last='Goodenow'], [player_tooltip player_id='153937' first='Alea' last='Goolsby'], [player_tooltip player_id='119725' first='Tatum' last='Grimes'], [player_tooltip player_id='152165' first='Reagan' last='Anderson'], [player_tooltip player_id='119691' first='Kelsey' last='Schenck']</strong>, and company they walked away as your 5A State Champions with a 40-3 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Saints had little issue navigating pool play sweeping all three opponents by a combined 150-93, taking down Bishop Carroll, Hutchinson, and Andover Central along the way. Hutchinson had what some label as the all-important first-match win over Andover Central in three sets. The victors won the first set -20 before Central fought back to get the second -19. The third was intense but the Salthawks gained the breathing room to escape -20. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='122207' first='Maliyah' last='Johnson']</strong> delivered 13 kills for Hutch while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='220371' first='Allie' last='Paulsen']</strong> did her best to steal the victory with 12 of her own. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andover Central bounced back in their next match to take down Bishop Carroll and give them their second loss of the day. This win would put both Andover Central and Hutchinson at 1-1 with one match to go. Hutch had 0-2 Carroll ahead and felt pretty good about their chances. Central still had to see top undefeated St. Thomas Aquinas and needed the upset to advance. The Salthawks jumped all over Bishop Carroll in set one, beating them -11. The easy-set win gave them the confidence to jump out again in set 2 and eventually win -16. In the final match, Central was no match for Aquinas, getting swept. The Saints and Salthawks would advance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The next pool had four teams that had tough schedules and would be battled tested entering the tournament. Many would say St. James would be the favorite entering pool action being among the top teams in the state and Kansas City region this fall. They proved this to be true winning their pool. They dropped the first set of the day to Lansing then wouldn't drop another set rest of the evening sweeping Topeka Seaman and Maize South. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119718' first='Ava' last='Spachek']</strong> had a good day in the kill category for the Thunder. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='154039' first='Reese' last='Messer']</strong> did a good job of using her surplus of options to lead St. James. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Seaman and Lansing took down Maize South, which made the winner of their match-up the probable second team out as long as St. James win their final match of the day. Like in their previous three-set match, Lansing was fast out the gate, winning the first behind the play of junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119810' first='Anna' last='Laincz']</strong>. The Vikings battled back to get the second in a nail-biter, 26-24. The Topeka school took that enthusiasm and momentum in the third, dominating it winning 25-12. This would give Topeka the second-place finish in pool play and the opportunity to play on Saturday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both semifinal matches would be electric, going three sets. The Johnson County schools got the upper hand in each match. Aquinas jumped all over Topeak Seaman in the first before fighting back to take the second 25-19. The Saints seemed unfazed, delivering a convincing 25-9 beat down. In the other match, St. James dropped the first 24-26 to Hutchinson. The second went back and forth before a series of good defensive plays by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119694' first='Mya' last='Bolton']</strong> allowed the Thunder to seal the deal, -23. The third was tight early but St. James pulled away to win it -19 to set up another match-up with their local rival. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Saints and Thunder faced twice during the regular season. Aquinas handed St. James their first defeat of the year in two sets. They then faced off a few weeks later and. the result was the same. With it all, on the line, we didn't expect this match to be another sweep and we were right. We got an instant classic. How about 25-22, 25-22, and 25-23 being the score of the three sets? Goodenow went off, putting down 16 kills in the championship. Schenck and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222090' first='Alayna' last='Vaeth'] </strong>combined for 30 assists. Messer delivered 32 assists for St. James finding both Spachek and [player_tooltip player_id='150079' first='Emma' last='Kolich'], who teamed up for 19. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Salthawks defeated Seaman for 3rd place. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='119694' first='Mya' last='Bolton'] (St. James), [player_tooltip player_id='150076' first='Betsy' last='Goodenow'] (St. Thomas Aquinas), [player_tooltip player_id='153937' first='Alea' last='Goolsby'] (St. Thomas Aquinas), [player_tooltip player_id='119804' first='Brooklyn' last='Gormley'] (Topeka Seaman), [player_tooltip player_id='119725' first='Tatum' last='Grimes'] (St. Thomas Aquinas), [player_tooltip player_id='122207' first='Maliyah' last='Johnson'] (Hutchinson), [player_tooltip player_id='119810' first='Anna' last='Laincz'] (Lansing), [player_tooltip player_id='154039' first='Reese' last='Messer'] (St. James), Maegen Mills (Topeka Seaman), [player_tooltip player_id='119709' first='Gracie' last='Morrow'] (Maize South), [player_tooltip player_id='220371' first='Allie' last='Paulsen'] (Andover Central), [player_tooltip player_id='119718' first='Ava' last='Spachek'] (St. James)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->