St. James/Spectrum Volleyball Slam

You know it's volleyball season when the Slam has arrived. You get some matches with teams from across the state lines on the final Saturday of August. A full day of volleyball at St. James High School, you have to love it. We have fun every year with some predictions. I'm normally on my game, so let's see if the streak continues!   Olathe East vs. Blue Valley   Blue Valley lost quite a bit in the attack last year. They do return the top libero in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='150068' first='Ryan' last='McAleer'] but we don't think that will be enough for Chloe Tyrell and Olathe East.   Pick: Olathe East   Blue Valley Northwest vs. Washburn Rural   The defending state champions in Class 6A lost a lot. They return some talented players though like [player_tooltip player_id='201027' first='Jada' last='Ingram'], so don't count them out. Blue Valley Northwest is a team to watch early as they return a good nucleus and will add some new faces to the mix.   Pick: Blue Valley Northwest   Shawnee Mission Northwest vs. (11) Lansing   Shawnee Mission Northwest is another team that graduated some of their top players. Lansing returns all of their top players. We look for Lansing to start the year with a bang.   Pick: Lansing   (5) Mill Valley vs. (7) Blue Valley West   One of the very intriguing matches in the morning eave is our #5 team versus our #7. Both teams have talent, we think West may be a tad deeper along the front row.   Pick: Blue Valley West   St. Teresa's Acadamy vs. (10) Bishop Miege   STA always makes strides when they graduate a few players so we expect them to be better later than earlier. Miege returns one of the top setters and attackers in the area. They hope to look in midseason form on day 1.   Pick: Bishop Miege   (4) Blue Valley North vs. (14) Lee's Summit West   We will be watching the pins of Blue Valley North and see if they raise their game even more in 2023. Lee's Summit West is still a pretty young team but many with varsity experience. This will give us a good look at both of these teams with questions.   Pick: Blue Valley North   (6) Olathe Northwest vs. (2) St. Thomas Aquinas   This could be the match of the night. Could. I tried to look at didn't find anything that spoke to the number of practices one must partake in for Kansas before a play a match. I know there is a number in Missouri. If there is no number, Pierce should be good to go and this makes this a good match-up on the pins and in the middle. It should be a good battle.   Pick: St. Thomas Aquinas   (3) Liberty North vs. (1) St. James Academy   This could be the match of the night. Could. Is [player_tooltip player_id='119226' first='Carlie' last='Cisneros'] playing? We know she was injured the last month of club ball. Even if she doesn't play it will be a competitive match. However, what would be the point of me putting St. James at number one and not picking them? Yes, I did that above but this is different.   Pick: St. James Academy

You know it's volleyball season when the Slam has arrived. You get some matches with teams from across the state lines on the final Saturday of August. A full day of volleyball at St. James High School, you have to love it. We have fun every year with some predictions. I'm normally on my game, so let's see if the streak continues!