SEMO Dig for Life Tournament Preview
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Pool A Saxony Lutheran – 1st Bell City – 2nd Lesterville – 3rd Clarkton – 4th Saxony is the team to beat in this pool but will have their hands full with the three Class 1 teams in the pool.…
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Continue ReadingPool A
Saxony Lutheran – 1st
Bell City – 2nd
Lesterville – 3rd
Clarkton – 4th
Saxony is the team to beat in this pool but will have their hands full with the three Class 1 teams in the pool. Bell City, Lesterville, and Clarkton will battle it out for second place with Bell City finishing up by winning the split with Lesterville. Grace Ozark, Paige Seibel, and Clara Brune Clara Brune 5'9" | RS Saxony Lutheran | 2024 State MO have Saxony firing on all cylinders taking the pool title.
Pool B
Advance – 1st
South Iron – 3rd
Cape Central – 4th
Valle Catholic – 2nd
Defending Class 1 champion Hornets are back at the tournament and will win the pool over Valle Catholic. Addison Carlton, Brogan Hawkins, and Emma Eilers Emma Eilers 5'4" | OH Advance | 2026 State MO are digging machines to keep the offense humming along with the Pool title. Valle fights off South Iron to finish in second place.
Pool C
St. Vincent – 2nd
Gideon – 3rd
Poplar Bluff – 4th
Central Park Hills – 1st
Central Park Hills and St. Vincent battle for the pool title and Madison Dunn Madison Dunn 5'6" | DS/L Park Hills Central | 2024 State MO and Blair Sitton Blair Sitton 6'4" | MB Central Park Hills | 2025 State MO overwhelm St. Vincent at the net for the pool title. St. Vincent gets the job done against a gritty Gideon team to take the second-place spot.
Pool D
Fredericktown – 1st
Cape Notre Dame – 2nd
Dexter – 4th
Winona – 3rd
The BlackCats have just enough to split past Notre Dame for the pool title. PJ Reutzel PJ Reutzel 5'7" | S Fredericktown | 2025 State MO , Alli Francis, and Amelia Miller helped Fredericktown squeak out the pool title having to overcome one of the best 2026 middle blockers in the state, Kate Rubel Kate Rubel 6'0" | MB Cape Notre Dame | 2026 State MO .
Crossover Matches
1A) Saxony vs. 4D) Dexter
1B) Advance vs. 4C) Poplar Bluff
1C) Central Park Hills vs. 4B) Cape Central
1D) Fredericktown vs. 4A) Clarkton
2A) Bell City vs 3D) Winona
2B) Valle vs. 3C) Gideon
2C) St. Vincent vs. 3B) South Iron
2D) Cape Notre Dame vs. 3A) Lesterville
1st Round Bracket Play
Saxony vs. Gideon
Advance vs. Winona
Central Park Hills vs. Lesterville
Fredericktown vs. South Iron
Bell City vs. Poplar Bluff
Valle vs. Dexter
St. Vincent vs. Clarkton
Notre Dame vs. Cape Central
Quarterfinals
Saxony vs. Advance
Central Park Hills vs. Fredericktown
Alexis Hoffman Alexis Hoffman 5'11" | MB Advance | 2024 State MO and Abigail Kennedy help propel Advance to a 2-1 win over Saxony. Central Park Hills has a monster block in Blair Sitton Blair Sitton 6'4" | MB Central Park Hills | 2025 State MO and gets enough defense from Avery Johnson to give the Rebels a 2-0 win over Fredericktown.
Bell City vs. Valle
St. Vincent vs. Notre Dame
Ade Weiler Ade Weiler 5'5" | OH Valle Catholic | 2024 State MO and Makayla Joggerst Makayla Joggerst 5'5" | OH Valle Catholic | 2024 State MO do it on both sides of the ball and push Valle into the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Bell City. Kate Rubel Kate Rubel 6'0" | MB Cape Notre Dame | 2026 State MO is a monster in the middle and gives Notre Dame the 2-1 edge over St. Vincent.
Semifinals
Advance vs. Central Park Hills
Valle vs. Notre Dame
Madison Dunn Madison Dunn 5'6" | DS/L Park Hills Central | 2024 State MO is huge in this match and plays tremendously in the backcourt to give Blair Sitton Blair Sitton 6'4" | MB Central Park Hills | 2025 State MO enough chances to get the edge over Advance 2-1. Valle is more experienced and defensively stronger than the Bulldogs to take a 2-1 win to move into the finals.
Finals
Valle vs. Central Park Hills
These two played the last day of August and it was a bitter battle till the end. Park Hills Central would take the win 16-14 in the 5th. Valle won every aspect of the previous match except for the 16 service errors. Ava Bauman and Ada Bley have a big match defensively at the net, while Abree Zipprich spreads the offense around to all her guns. Maddison Dunn, Blair Sitton, and Avery Johnson are ferocious at the net for Central, and Kelsie Politte takes care of the backcourt but in the end, Central will outlast Valle in a 2-1 marathon.