Tournament Champions-Final Edition

My favorite part of the year has once again come and gone. I've been going to the volleyball final four for the last 31 years, and I watch every match. It always seems to go by so fast, and I can't imagine how teams feel once their season ends, whether it be a district, sectional, quarterfinal, semifinal, or in the championship. I was so disappointed when the state went away from pool play when expanding to five classes because it was less volleyball to watch during the final weekend. I wish they would go back to pool play! I love watching the Class 5 schools play, where the big schools have all the big players down to Class 1, where one player could take 100 attempts in a five-set match. I love to see the crowds for schools that had to drive five hours to Cape Girardeau. I love talking to parents/fans about what it does for these communities. I love watching the player's reactions when they win the title. I love watching the heartbreak of the teams that lose. I love seeing all the accomplishments players have achieved throughout the years. I love watching teams battle in five sets. I love hearing the officials take a beating from the fans and know they are okay with it because they love the game and the kids playing it. High school girl's volleyball is a fantastic sport with tremendous athletes, coaches, managers, and officials, and I'm bummed it has come to the end of another season.   Class 5 State Champions   Lafayette Lancers 32-6   The one thing I've learned is never to bet against Zach Young and his Lancers. At the beginning of the first season rankings, I picked Lafayette as number 1 for a good reason. At least two deep, the team was stacked with talent at each position. This weekend's defense was better than the other three teams, and the passing was precise. Most people believe the semifinal opponent was the best team in Liberty North. Lafayette jumped out quickly on the Eagles, never looked back, and cruised through the first two sets 25-11, 25-17. Liberty North finally found their footing, and the following two sets were nip-tuck, with Lafayette taking a 23-25, 25-22 with a 3-1 win to move to the finals. [player_tooltip player_id='153929' first='Maya' last='Witherspoon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='123472' first='Caitlyn' last='Little'] did the damage on the outside for the Lancers, knocking down 21 and 13 kills, respectively. [player_tooltip player_id='119226' first='Carlie' last='Cisneros'] and [player_tooltip player_id='219774' first='McKenna' last='Jacquin'] led the Eagles with 20 and 9 kills. Finals pitted the Lancers against Kickapoo Lady Chiefs. Lafayette took a 25-19, 24-26, 25-10, 25-17 win to win the school's seventh title out of 10 final four appearances in the last 12 years. Story book ending for Lafayette for more ways than one. Keep Lafayette in the forefront next year, as I never count the Lancers out.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/Lafayette-Lancers-1024x504.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-244036"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Class 5 State Champions Lafayette Lancers</figcaption></figure>     Class 4 State Champions   Westminster Christian 32-2-5   Westminster looked rattled by Platte County in the semifinals, and the Pirates came out on fire, winning the first set 25-19. Sets 2 and 3 were a close battle, with Westminster getting big kills from their right-side hitter [player_tooltip player_id='152141' first='Emma' last='Fairchild'] to steal a 25-22, 25-20 win. The 4th set wasn't close for long as Westminster took over and finally looked like the defending champions and took the 25-14 3-1 win to advance to another final. The finals put Westminster up against the storied program Incarnate Word Academy, which was looking for the school's 12th state title. Westminster is a team loaded with seniors and Incarnate Word who will return every starter. It was the older kids on the block against the new kids. Each set was close throughout, with Westminster making critical plays in crucial situations to give them the repeat title 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/Westminster-Christian-Wildcats-crop-1853x1217-1667786833.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-244035"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Class 4 State Champions Westminster Christian Wildcats</figcaption></figure>     Class 3 State Champions   Blair Oaks Falcons 33-3-1   In the semifinals against Eldon, a team the Falcons swept in the regular season, and the Mustangs kept things interesting in set 1. Once the jitters from set 1 disappeared, the Falcons flew past the Mustangs, taking a 25-23, 25-17, 25-17 semifinal win. In the Finals, the Chicks from Pleasant Hill looked like a team that could give the Falcons fits. Instead, Aubrey Harwick led her team to a clean sweep at the final four and knocked off the Chicks 25-15, 25-8, 25-23. The Falcons walked into Cape Girardeau like they owned the place and walked out with a repeat title.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/Blair-Oaks-Falcons-crop-1924x1263-1667786609.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-244026"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Class 3 State Champions Blair Oaks Falcons</figcaption></figure>       Class 2 State Champions   Jefferson Blue Jays 32-5-1   Another team I picked at the start of the season to win it all was the Blue Jays. Jefferson looked on a mission to make the championship match in the semifinals, and they smoked East Buchanan 25-12, 25-11, 25-12. Jefferson held the Bulldogs to 13 kills over three sets, while Jefferson finished with 39 kills and hit .440. In the finals, you had the dynasty of Hermann Bearcats taking on a newcomer to the finals in Jefferson. Many teams crack under pressure when facing the power program Hermann. Jefferson looked to be that team in the 1st set taking a 25-16 thumping, and for most of the 2nd set, it appeared the same would happen. Late in the 2nd set, with their backs against the wall, the Blue Jays came from behind to win 25-23. Set 3 was a battle back and forth as Hermann's [player_tooltip player_id='168912' first='Holly' last='Heldt'] and Jefferson's [player_tooltip player_id='168923' first='Emma' last='Breier'] would trade kill for the kill. Jefferson again snuck past Hermann in the late stages to take a 25-22 win. The 4th set was all Jefferson as they took early leads, and Hermann would battle back. Jefferson got a couple of huge plays toward the end of the set to allow them to take a 25-19 win. Jefferson won the school's first state title and prevented Hermann from winning its 16th.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/Jefferson-Blue-Jays-crop-1613x1059-1667786705.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-244033"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Class 2 State Champions Jefferson Blue Jays</figcaption></figure>     Class 1 State Champions       Advance Hornets 27-10   At the beginning of the season, I thought Advance was one year away from winning the title, but now it looks like they will be the top team for next year. The Hornets have no seniors on the team and start three freshmen. The semifinal match against Tarkio/Fairfax was close until set four as the Hornets would take the 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 25-12 to make the finals for the fourth time in five years. In the finals stood the defending Class 1 champions Miller Cardinals. It looks like Miller belonged in the championship match and Advance didn't, as the Cardinals thumped the Hornets 25-11. Then Advance started to play ball like they could and took the title with a 25-15, 21-25, 25-9, and 15-12 win. It's the fourth title in five years. My prediction for next year is Advance repeats with ease.     <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/Advance-Hornets-crop-1795x1179-1667786417.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-244018"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Class 1 Champions Advance Hornets</figcaption></figure>

My favorite part of the year has once again come and gone. I've been going to the volleyball final four for the last 31 years, and I watch every match. It always seems to go by so fast, and I can't imagine how teams feel once their season ends, whether it be a district, sectional, quarterfinal, semifinal, or in the championship. I was so disappointed when the state went away from pool play when expanding to five classes because it was less volleyball to watch during the final weekend. I wish they would go back to pool play! I love watching the Class 5 schools play, where the big schools have all the big players down to Class 1, where one player could take 100 attempts in a five-set match. I love to see the crowds for schools that had to drive five hours to Cape Girardeau. I love talking to parents/fans about what it does for these communities. I love watching the player's reactions when they win the title. I love watching the heartbreak of the teams that lose. I love seeing all the accomplishments players have achieved throughout the years. I love watching teams battle in five sets. I love hearing the officials take a beating from the fans and know they are okay with it because they love the game and the kids playing it. High school girl's volleyball is a fantastic sport with tremendous athletes, coaches, managers, and officials, and I'm bummed it has come to the end of another season.