State Line Tidbits

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One writer, two states, new series. That's right, as I continue to go back and forth between articles for specific states versus seeing where we can combine some things, I have a new series here called State Line Tidbits. The tidbits will be a quick overview of the happenings in the Gateway and Heart of America regions which make up basically Missouri and Kansas. This is a way to highlight more of the adventures outside of qualifier play and [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] leagues when we can, though you will still see some of that news in this article, like now starting with our first highlight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rockwood picks up some more bids.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early in the qualifier season, we saw [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 17 Navy grab a bid. Last week, Rockwood Elite 17s and 18s both grabbed Liberty bids via the Gateway Bid weekend. The 18's team took second place going 5-2 on the weekend, while 17 Elte went 7-1. Both teams will look to upgrade those bids in the coming weeks. In the 16 division, 16 Elite had a second place finish as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL picks up some more bids...too</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rivalry on the east side of the state was on display at the bid weekend. HPSTL 18 Royal went ahead and double-qualified by winning the 18 tournament by going undefeated. Coach Monica Munoz's team has been playing some very good volleyball over the last month. And in the 17s, it was 17 Royal who were runnerups to Rockwood with a 7-2 showing. We haven't had a chance to see much of the 16s yet but 16 Royal ran through their bid weekend going perfect to finish first. [player_tooltip player_id='169895' first='Tara' last='Greenberry'], [player_tooltip player_id='168037' first='Hannah' last='Leftridge'], and company will be a team to watch this spring. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cape Girardeau Classic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Classic is set to kick off this weekend in the southeast corner of the state. A couple of teams to keep an eye on is STL Crossfire and [program_tooltip program_id='428820' first='Team' last='Momentum'] 18 Navy. Crossfire had a 3rd place showing in the AAU Super Regional a couple of weeks ago. 18 Navy has a good mixture of 2023s and 2024s on the roster. [player_tooltip player_id='171213' first='Paige' last='Siebert'] is a quality setter for this team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HOA [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Leagues</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 17s division, it appears [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 17 Black and [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17 Black are on the way to a collision on the final play date. Both teams are undefeated after two play dates, with [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] perfect in sets, and [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] dropping one. In the 18 division, [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] is in the winner of [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Legue after an undefeated run over two play dates. They pick up a national bid to the championships in April. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Commitment Updates</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='120045' first='Skylar' last='Weaver'] and [player_tooltip player_id='119712' first='Shannon' last='Frakes'] of [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] made their college decisions known recently. Weaver. of 18 Black and Lansing will head to St. Louis to play for University of Missouri-STL joining former high school teammate Caitlin Bishop. Frakes is a 2024 on the 17 Red team and she will take her talents to Washburn University. The pin preps at Spring Hill. [player_tooltip player_id='124850' first='Rilynn' last='Finley'] of 417 Juniors has pledged to continue her career at Missouri State. The pin/middle hails from the Ozark area and attends Republic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sunflower Slam</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Kansas Networks 16-2 team captured the Sunflower Slam championship last weekend taking down Apex Volleyball 16-1 in straight sets in the championship. They were also perfect in pool play leading up to the gold bracket taking down teams representing Invasion, Zoom, and Topeka Elite. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->