3A and 4A ready for Substate play

Kansas gets going with substate play on Saturday, October 21st. We will give a brief overview of what we expect to take place, with a more exhaustive look at the state tournament next week.   4A East   Fort Scott Site   In 4A, we get some play-in matches in a couple of brackets! Rock Creek is the top overall seed and will wait to play the winner of Wamego and Coffeyville-Field Kindley. [player_tooltip player_id='219714' first='Ayla' last='Klingenberg'] is averaging around four kills per set and hitting at a .430 clip. They have a win over Wamego, so regardless of the winner of the first match, Rock Creek moves on to play the winner of Parsons and Holton. Like March Madness, the 8/9 match is always a toss-up. Both teams have twenty wins over the year. The winner gets the top seed and we expect Rock Creek to advance to state.   Independence and their 27 wins will be the second seed and will keep their eye on the Atchison versus El Dorado match to determine their opponent. We think it will be Atchinson they will get by in their first match. Louisburg and Paola will battle to take on Independence. The two teams have seen each other on two different occasions this year with Louisburg getting the dub in both. The third time is a charm for the Burg and they move on to the championship. I feel an upset in my spirit. I don't know why and I have a track record of being wrong but Louisburg gets their biggest win of the year.   Third seed Chanute had 9 wins two seasons ago and sits at 25 this year. They will get number 26 in their opening match. Then they get the luxury of the Miege tax. Bishop Miege enters 17-17 as the 11th seed but will win this bracket. [player_tooltip player_id='173376' first='Lauren' last='Lopez'], [player_tooltip player_id='119689' first='Ava' last='Martin'], and company play a gauntlet of a schedule that prepares them for long postseason runs. If you add in the fact they are loaded with some. of the better club players in the city, they move on.   The 4 vs. 5, Eudora and Baldwin is the highlight in this final East bracket. These two teams are familiar with each other, playing FOUR times this season. Eudora has won three of those four, with the last two going the distance. [player_tooltip player_id='172456' first='Fisayo' last='Afonja'] has had her way in each of the four matches. In the last match, [player_tooltip player_id='493575' first='Adalyn' last='Hemphill'] matched that energy with a huge match of her own. The difference is Hemphill has a second wheel in [player_tooltip player_id='495639' first='Rayah' last='Foltz'] to help in the offensively. This is a tough pick. Afonja, do your thing and make me look smart picking Baldwin to move on.   4A West   Towanda-Circle Site   Clearwater is the clear favorite in their bracket as the number one seed out West. They have 33 wins including a 16-win match streak at one point. [player_tooltip player_id='219720' first='Kenzy' last='Mcartor'] is pulling in over 4 kills per set. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='219719' first='Kaylee' last='Hampton'] has been stellar this fall. They will play the winner of the play-in match. In the other contests, Abilene takes over Concordia in an 8/9 battle. The stats show they are 2-2 against each other this season. Abilene has three players averaging over 2 kills per set with Claira Dannefer leading the way. Concordia has three players of their own at 2 kills per set. [player_tooltip player_id='523702' first='Baylen' last='Arnold'] has been huge also with 460 digs on the year. We don't know who to pick but Clearwater will beat the winner to advance.   The hosts and second seed Towanda will have little trouble in their bracket. They have over 30 wins this year. [player_tooltip player_id='261115' first='Mia' last='Fox'] is averaging over 3 1/2 kills per set and hitting at a .433 clip. Pratt and Scott Community will battle in the other bracket match to see Circle in the final. It should be a close contest but we like Pratt to get to the final where Circle will prevail.   Third seed Andale will look to make it back to the state tournament. With 25 wins, they have some quality wins on their resume to put them as the clubhouse leader to advance from this bracket. [player_tooltip player_id='357543' first='Hayden' last='Grimes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='495580' first='Grace' last='Rowland'] have been a two-headed monster offensively. Clay Center and Mulvane will battle to see Andale. Mulvane has lost four straight coming into this match. Emma Pfizenmaier has been lights out defensively for Clay Center and should be key in them getting a win. In the final, Andale moves on.   Ulysses will be the 4th-seed. McPherson will be the 5th. McPherson has wins over Rose Hill this year and should take them down again behind their balanced offense and ball-control defense. Ulysses should get to the final to face McPherson. We like the schedule and competition McPherson played this year and give them the edge.   3A Fredonia   Neodesha is the top seed here and enters with 33 wins on the year, including eleven straight. Humboldt will be the second seed followed by Garnett-Anderson County and Iola. We expect the top four seeds to win their opening-round matches. Neodesha and Humboldt split previous matches this season. Anderson County has wins over McPherson, which is impressive. We believe the third seed, Garnett-Anderson County escapes from this bracket.   3A Halstead   In this eight-team bracket, the top two seeds are the ones we will focus on here. Host Halstead eclipsed the 30-win total this year. Second-seed Smoke Valley has split matches with Halstead this year. Halstead comes in on a three-match losing steak. [player_tooltip player_id='152836' first='Hope' last='Duncan'] leads Smoke Valley in kills and [player_tooltip player_id='172463' first='Adrian' last='Hazelwood'] is closing in on 900 assists. I will pick Smoke Valley to advance.   3A Haven   Cheney and Collegiate is the feature in this bracket. Both teams have over 30 wins to only 4 defeats on the year. In the sole time they saw each other this season, Cheney got the win with Alex Bittner leading the way. Collegiate has Avery Elofsson on their side bringing the heat offensively. We think Cheney will get it done again and move on to state.   3A Hoisington   The top four seeds should be in contention for a sub-state title, as not a lot separates this bunch. Host Hoisington has 27 wins. Lakin follows with 26. Holcomb with 23, and 4th-seed Goodland has 20 of their own. [player_tooltip player_id='483894' first='Sofia' last='Simic'] is who makes Hoisington go offensively and think she is the main difference between the four teams and they move on to state.   3A Marysville   Beloit and Nemaha Central are on a collision course in the finals by our estimation. Beloit is riding a 32-match win streak. Their two losses, Andover Central and Olateh West in August. Nemaha Central has a 14-match thing going on their own. I have Beloit and their confidence winning and moving on.   3A Pomona-West Franklin   Heritage Christian wins. We will talk more about them next week leading up to state but their roster and schedule are unmatched in this substate.   3A Riverton   Three teams to keep an eye on in this substate. Top seed Frontenac has 28 wins. Girard brings in 26 and Riverton 22. Girard has defeated Frontenac a couple of times. Riverton has wins over both. We like Riverton to get it done.   3A St. Marys   Rossville will be the top seed, followed by Silver Lake. Silver Lake has been impressive this year with wins over Nemaha Central. They also have two wins in three attempts over Rossville. We think the confidence and their balanced roster prevail over Rossville in this substate.

Kansas gets going with substate play on Saturday, October 21st. We will give a brief overview of what we expect to take place, with a more exhaustive look at the state tournament next week.