Top Five Teams In 1A This Week

Kyp Harasymowycz September 15, 2023 @ 08:02 AM

<p>In our last edition before the weekend, we have a group of small schools that have plenty of talent to play at the next level. Here are five teams, their records, and a couple of athletes per squad to keep an eye on.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5: Rivet (15-2)</h2>   <p>The Patriots, winners of ten in a row, have a ton of multi sport athletes in their halls, and none are bigger than the Herman sisters. <strong>Anna Herman ('24, 6-2 MB/OH)</strong> has size for days and can put balls away from anywhere. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='573344' first='Mary' last='Herman'] ('25, 6-1 MB/S)</strong> does a little bit of everything for the Patriots. To give you a general idea of what these two mean to Rivet, both are listed in the top two on their roster in kills, kills per set, hitting percentage and digs. Both should help these ladies make a deep run into October.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#4: Faith Christian (17-2)</h2>   <p>A tough, five set loss last night shouldn't deter this group of Eagles from continued success this fall. Unlike Rivet, however, this roster is filled with springy athleticism that looks undersized, yet makes up for it in speed and strength. Middle <strong>Molly Miller ('25, 5-9 MB)</strong> can defend from pin to pin as easily as she puts balls away, while setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='462512' first='Olivia' last='Barber'] ('26, 5-8 S)</strong> always seems to find the right hitter in the right situation.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#3: Springs Valley (18-1)</h2>   <p>Not to be outdone, the Blackhawks are winners of eighteen in a row after a season-opening loss to 3A defending champ Providence. We've talked a lot about the Carnes family making a huge impact for SV, so why not talk about some bigs? Seniors <strong>Bella Nottger</strong> and <strong>Tori McCormick</strong> have all of the tools and the talent to keep other teams honest both offensively and defensively. These two are 1-2 in blocks and blocks per set, while Bella leads the program by hitting north of .400 on the season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2: Blackhawk Christian (11-3)</h2>   <p>Back-to-back losses to Leo (in five) and Concordia Lutheran (in three) knock the defending 1A champs from the top spot this week. Righting the ship will start with their serve receive, which makes <strong>Rylen Marker</strong> the senior leader that must take care of that first contact. We're also noting that once that first contact is in the air, setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='154811' first='Leena' last='Leichty'] </strong>needs to pick the right attackers in the right situations. These two losses aren't "bad" by any stretch. It's good that they happened now, as opposed to mid-October. Here's to hoping they get back to their winning ways, which will start and end with these two.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1: Tecumseh (16-0)</h2>   <p>These Braves are steamrolling the competition. Saturday's match against 4A Castle should prove to be the biggest match of the season for them, and their athleticism will be put to the test against more volleyball experienced squads. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='192102' first='Ava' last='Kissel'] ('25, 5-9 MB/RS)</strong> is a springy attacker that can put balls away from anywhere, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241704' first='Emily' last='Hall'] ('24, 5-6 S)</strong> is one of a pair of setters in the 6-2 that always find the right hitter in the right spot. With teams such as Castle (twice), Silver Creek, Springs Valley and Barr-Reeve remaining on their schedule, they'll have plenty of tough experience before the playoffs start.</p>

In our last edition before the weekend, we have a group of small schools that have plenty of talent to play at the next level. Here are five teams, their records, and a couple of athletes per squad to keep an eye on.