Class 1 Quarterfinals 1 & 2 Previews

Class 1 Quarterfinal 1 Preview:   Bell City Cubs 24-9-2 vs. Advance Hornets 32-3-3   These two tangled back on September 11th and Advance walked away with a 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 win. Since that loss Bell City has gone 20-3- 1. Advance is the defending Class 1 champion and knocked off Bell City in the district finals last season. Ironically MSHSAA moved Bell City and Advance out of the same district which set up a rematch in the state quarterfinals. Advance was a 3-0 winner over St. Vincent in the Sectional round while Bell City swept Holcomb.   Previous Meeting Stat Leaders for Advance:   Addison Carlton – 2025 – 5'4” – Outside   13 kills on 22 attempts for a .500%   [player_tooltip player_id='168900' first='Alexis' last='Hoffman'] – 2024 – 6'1” – Middle/Setter   11 kills on 20 attempts for .500% and 18 assists   Abigail Kennedy – 2024 – 5'9” – Middle   8 kills on 15 attempts for a .467%   [player_tooltip player_id='237006' first='Emma' last='Eilers'] – 2026 – 5'4” – Outside   14 digs   Previous Meeting Stat Leaders for Bell City:   Maddie Asher -2024 – 5'9” – Middle   5 kills and hit .154%   Kamryn Stubenrauch – 2024 – 5'5” – Opposite   6 kills and hit .312%   Eliana Bowling – 2024 – 5'10” – Middle   4 kills and 4 digs   Madison Jines – 2024 – 5'8” – Setter   22 assists   Prediction: Did Bell City come in too hyped for the rematch and fall flat or is Advance that much better? Not sure Bell City has enough defense to knock off the Hornets. Advance finished with 37 digs in the previous meeting while Bell City only finished with 15. The biggest stat that jumps out is Bell City only hit .186% in the match while Advance was much more effective with .309%. A lot of this has to do with how tough Advance is on defense and how they can wear down teams by keeping the ball alive and making their opposition make mistakes. In the rematch for a final-four appearance, the Hornets will do more of the same and wear Bell City down with its passing and defense to take a 3-0 sweep.   Class 1 Quarterfinal 2 Preview:   South Iron Panthers 20-9-4 vs. Summersville Wildcats 17-15-3   This will be a rematch of the first game of the season for both teams and South Iron walloped the Wildcats 25-10, 25-13, 25-18. Both teams have come a long way since then and from a couple of sources Summersville is playing its best ball of the season. Will it be enough to contain South Iron's attack? South Iron knocked off New Haven in Sectionals in a 3-0 sweep and Summersville did the same to Chadwick.   Previous Meeting Stat Leaders for South Iron:   [player_tooltip player_id='205304' first='Emmy' last='Gayle'] – 2025 – 5'7” – Outside   10 kills and 14 digs   [player_tooltip player_id='168909' first='Anna' last='Parker'] – 2024 – 5'5” – Libero   18 digs   [player_tooltip player_id='168908' first='Enzley' last='Dinkins'] – 2024 – 5'8” – Middle/Setter   15 digs, 13 assists and 12 kills   [player_tooltip player_id='174284' first='Lexie' last='Bollinger'] – 2025 – 5'8” – Middle/Setter   17 assists and 4 kills   Previous Meeting Stat Leaders for Summersville:   Claire Jewett – 2025 – 5'5” – Outside   4 kills and 6 digs   Kaylin Heiney – 2026 – 5'3” – Libero   17 digs   Jaiden German – 2025 – 5'4” – Setter   15 assists, 7 digs, and 4 kills   Prediction: South Iron will have home-court advantage and a crazy crowd looking to make a return trip to the final four after placing 4th in 2021. Summersville is looking for their first final four since they finished 4th in 1995. South Iron has a history, home court, and more firepower than Summersville. They have one of the best liberos in Class 1, two solid outsides and middles, and an opposite who can produce a lot of kills. South Iron will return to the final four with a sweep of Summersville.

Class 1 Quarterfinal 1 Preview: