MICDS Brace for Impact Volleyball Tournament

It's the best time of the year! Volleyball is starting and the first weekend gives us a power-packed field for the MICDS Tournament. Some of the top teams from the metro area will take to the court Friday evening and Saturday with battles in every pool. We have power programs from each side of the Metro area and the Class 3 back-to-back state champions. I will preview the pools,  semifinals, and finals in the top playoff bracket.   Pool A   St. Pius X   U – High Chicago   Belleville West   MICDS   St. Pius X and Belleville West should be the match to determine the pool winner. [player_tooltip player_id='168037' first='Hannah' last='Leftridge'], [player_tooltip player_id='475315' first='Anne' last='Makowski'], and [player_tooltip player_id='221230' first='Bennett' last='Raterman'] take care of business at the net while [player_tooltip player_id='207277' first='Karlie' last='Lane'] and [player_tooltip player_id='230660' first='Emma' last='Frazier'] cause fits for the opposition in the backcourt. The Lancers will finish top in Pool A without much trouble.     Pool B   Mater Dei   Blair Oaks   Rockwood Summit   Hillsboro   If you follow the metro area on the Illinois side, then you already know about the powerhouse Mater Dei. Blair Oaks has become a powerhouse of their own the last two years as they have taken the Class 3 state title back-to-back. Mater Dei has a monster middle in 6'5” Alyssa Koerkenmeier and 6'2” outside hammer Emma Johnson. Blair Oaks counters with [player_tooltip player_id='124226' first='Autumn' last='Bax'] the dominant lefty opposite and outside [player_tooltip player_id='150054' first='Bailey' last='Braun']. Mater Dei has too much for the Falcons to handle and the Knights win the pool.     Pool C   St. Joseph's Academy   Althoff   Farmington   Centralia, IL   The Angels return a powerful attack and a huge block. Althoff, IL is another dominant program from Illinois and this year will be the same for the Crusaders. The battle between St. Joseph's Academy and Althoff will be a fight, but I'll take the Angels for the pool winner. Emma Howard does a ton on the outside and Gabby Orlet is a smooth offensive setter for the Crusaders. [player_tooltip player_id='124216' first='Claire' last='Morrissey'] does it on both sides of the ball with her powerful attacks and relentless defense while [player_tooltip player_id='174403' first='Zoe' last='Baliva'] and [player_tooltip player_id='207583' first='Kayla' last='Jansen'] help defensively at the net for the pool-winner Angels.     Pool D   Nerinx Hall   Belleville East   North Point   Fox   Nerinx Hall Markers has another solid team this year led by [player_tooltip player_id='194099' first='Taylor' last='Reynolds'] who will feed her big middle Audrey O'Neill and have enough role players make big plays to take the pool over North Point. [player_tooltip player_id='195372' first='Catherine' last='Woolf'] and Cooper Griffin do damage for the Grizzlies but not enough to keep Nerinx from moving on to the top playoff bracket.     Bracket Playoff Semifinals   (1A) St. Pius X vs. (1D) Nerinx Hall   The Lancers have a ton of offense and a talented setter in [player_tooltip player_id='221231' first='Elena' last='Ruble'] who feeds her powerful middle [player_tooltip player_id='221230' first='Bennett' last='Raterman'] early and often. The Markers put up a great fight but the Lancers take a 2-1 win to advance to the finals.   (1B) Mater Dei vs. (1C) St. Joseph's Academy   This is going to be one heck of a semifinal game. Both are power programs from their respective states. Mater Dei has one of the better middles in the Metro area while St. Joseph's has one of the better outsides in the nation. Defense will win this one and I'll take my home state team St. Joseph's Academy to advance to the finals with a dogfight 2-1 win.     Finals   St. Pius X vs. St. Joseph's Academy   [player_tooltip player_id='124216' first='Claire' last='Morrissey'] plays outstanding defense and leads the offense, and the Angels outmuscle the Lancers to take the championship match 2-0.

It's the best time of the year! Volleyball is starting and the first weekend gives us a power-packed field for the MICDS Tournament. Some of the top teams from the metro area will take to the court Friday evening and Saturday with battles in every pool. We have power programs from each side of the Metro area and the Class 3 back-to-back state champions. I will preview the pools, semifinals, and finals in the top playoff bracket.