Jackson Tournament Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another Jackson Tournament will take place on Saturday, and the field is once again loaded with teams from all five Classes. The final four participants from last year's Class 1 State Champion Advance, and Class 4 runner-up Incarnate Word highlight the field and will battle each other in pool play. Pool 2 will have Nerinx Hall, Saxony, Potosi, and Jackson as the teams to have the best chance of winning this pool.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Incarnate Word 18-8-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valle 17-4-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Advance 21-1-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kirkwood 12-11-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Arcadia Valley 11-10-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Poplar Bluff 8-10-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool projection:</strong> Incarnate Word just swept Cor Jesu and has the triple-A's on defense. [player_tooltip player_id='235705' first='Abby' last='Freund'], [player_tooltip player_id='244664' first='Ally' last='Fuchs'], and [player_tooltip player_id='475328' first='Audrey' last='Schaeffer'] are the hardcore defenders for the Red Knights and will carry them into finishing top in Pool 1. Advance and Valle will battle it out for the 2^nd place finish. The teams met at the Dig for Life Tournament where it was a split. Both teams are tough defensively and will come down to who can put the ball away. Valle will pull this one out in 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jackson 20-6-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saxony 17-4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nerinx Hall 16-9-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Potosi 15-5-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lindbergh 6-11-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lesterville 5-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool Projection</strong>: Jackson already has wins over Nerinx and Saxony. Jackson wins the pool and Saxony escapes with wins over Nerinx Hall and Lindbergh to finish second.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Championship</strong>: <strong>Incarnate Word </strong>vs. Jackson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rematch from the first game of the season for both teams has IWA pulled out a 24-26, 25-15, 25-16, 25-18 win. 2025's [player_tooltip player_id='169896' first='Ellie' last='Witthaus'] and [player_tooltip player_id='169895' first='Tara' last='Greenberry'] were sensational in the win totalling 28 of the team's 42 kills. Jackson's [player_tooltip player_id='168036' first='Katherine' last='St. John'], [player_tooltip player_id='124849' first='Nadia' last='Wasilewski'], and [player_tooltip player_id='170028' first='Ella' last='Domian'] finished with 32 of the team's 38 kills. Serve receive was the determining factor in the match and IWA passed nails. In this one, I'm going to take the Red Knights to win the title 2-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3^rd Place</strong>: Valle vs. <strong>Saxony</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two have played twice with each taking a win. Saxony has a little more height and power and pulls the win out in 3 behind the hitting of [player_tooltip player_id='240203' first='Clara' last='Brune'] and Grace Ozark.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5^th</strong>: Advance vs. <strong>Nerinx Hall</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Markers are Class 5 and Advance is the defending Class 1 champions. Nerinx Hall plays a much more challenging schedule and behind Audrey O'Neill and [player_tooltip player_id='207286' first='Hannah' last='Whatley-Blaine'] give the Markers the win in 3 but not after Advance gives them a scare.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7^th</strong>: Kirkwood vs. <strong>Potosi</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kirkwood is having a rollercoaster season and Potosi is having another solid year with some big wins. [player_tooltip player_id='170045' first='Ava' last='Robart'] is a ridiculously talented attacker and will give Potosi the 2-0 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9^th</strong>: Arcadia Valley vs.<strong> Lindbergh</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't let the losing record for the Flyers fool you. They have the potential to finish anywhere from 2^nd to 5^th in this pool. With tough losses, [player_tooltip player_id='170036' first='Bailey' last='Boehm'] helps her team sweep AV.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>11^th</strong>: Poplar Bluff vs.<strong> Lesterville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 1 power Lesterville is suffering through its first losing season in over a decade. Already has a loss to Poplar Bluff 0-3 but finds enough fight to pull out the 2-1 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->