4A State Preview: Western Clubs Look To Knock Off Bishop Miege

The Class 4A bracket is an interesting one. The top three seeds all come from the western half of the state, but sitting at the No. 8 seed is defending champion Bishop Miege.   Eight teams punched their tickets for the Class 4A State Tournament which will be played in Hutchinson.   Pools of four teams were announced on October 22. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semifinals on Saturday. Class 4A teams will play in the afternoon sessions at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.   I looked for one player on each team to highlight and I focused on writing about a player I did not feature in last week's sub-state previews.   Here is the fourth of multiple previews of the seven state tournaments being played October 27-28.   No. 1 Seed: Clearwater (35-3)   [player_tooltip player_id='493438' first='Madison' last='Williams'], 5'7”, OH/, Clearwater, ‘25   Williams is one of many stat monsters for Clearwater. Her stat sheet is impressive. Through 72 sets played the junior has tallied 228 kills, 154 serve receptions, 115 digs, and 17 total blocks. Clearwater will compete in Pool A and open the tournament facing No. 8 Seed Bishop Miege at 4:30 p.m.   No. 2 Seed: Circle (33-5)   [player_tooltip player_id='261115' first='Mia' last='Fox'], 6'1”, MH/RS, Circle, ‘24   Circle is one of the few Class 4A teams out west that I have seen in person. Fox is the epitome of the team which is grittiness. Fox is second on the team with 302 kills. She also has 70 total blocks proving that you better not overpass against the Thunderbirds and hitters best beware. Circle will play in Pool B and opens with a 4:30 p.m. match against No. 7-seeded Holton.   No. 3 Seed: McPherson (29-9)   [player_tooltip player_id='495588' first='Alex' last='Romero'], 5'7”, S, McPherson, ‘24   McPherson is a young squad and Romero is the only senior. She is the team leader emotionally and runs the offense for McPherson. She has collected 790 assists and is second on the team in blocks with 43. Romero has a very accurate serve, serving with a 92 percent success rate. She also has a younger sister on the team. [player_tooltip player_id='489341' first='Ava' last='Romero'], a sophomore, is the team leader in kills and blocks with a total of 241 and 53 in each respective category. McPherson will compete in Pool A and square off with No. 6 seed Louisburg to open the tournament in a 3:30 p.m. match.   No. 4 Seed: Eudora (23-8)   [player_tooltip player_id='495645' first='Ellie' last='Suber'], 5'10”, S, Eudora, ‘24   The No. 4 seed Eudora is a team you don't want to sleep on. Their offense is run by setter Suber. She is among the state leaders in assists with 710 in 78 sets played. She has also chipped in 79 kills and 21 total blocks this season. Eudora will compete in Pool A and opens the tournament against No. 5-seeded Andale at 3:30 p.m.   No. 5 Seed: Andale (27-10)   [player_tooltip player_id='357543' first='Hayden' last='Grimes'], 5'9”, OH, Andale, ‘26   Grimes is a solid-hitting prospect in the class of 2026. She leads Andale in kills with 355 on 90 sets played. Grimes has a tough serve to receive as evidenced by her total of 72 aces. Andale will play in Pool B and square off against Eudora in its first match.   No. 6 Seed: Louisburg (24-14)   Megan Quinn, 5'8”, S,  Louisburg, ‘24   The Wildcats have a couple of big-time hitters and getting them the ball is Quinn's primary task. The senior setter has racked up 457 assists in 92 sets played. The Wildcats will play in Pool A and face McPherson in their first match.   No. 7 Seed: Holton (25-15)   [player_tooltip player_id='495573' first='Cora' last='Miller'], 5'6”, DS/OH, Holton, ‘24   Like Circle, Holton is a very gritty team. They won't have the tallest athletes in this tournament, but their offense gets flowing from the consistent passing of Miller. She is an athletic defensive specialist who has collected 444 serve receptions, and 385 digs for the Wildcats. Holton opens play in Pool B against Circle.   No. 8 Seed: Bishop Miege (19-17)   [player_tooltip player_id='173376' first='Lauren' last='Lopez'], 5'10”, OH,  Maize, ‘25   Lopez is a six-rotation athlete for the Stags. Her stat line reads as so: 275 kills, 157 digs, and 367 serve receptions. Don't be fooled by the Miege's win-loss record. They are stacked with talent and one of the favorites to win the tournament. They got beat up by Class 6A and Class 5A teams and are peaking at the right time of the year. Miege will open against No. 1 Seed Clearwater in Pool A play.

The Class 4A bracket is an interesting one. The top three seeds all come from the western half of the state, but sitting at the No. 8 seed is defending champion Bishop Miege.