Q's Class 6A Preview: Up For Grabs

Regardless of what the experts think, Class 6A is up for grabs with a loaded field. I was seven of eight in my picks of who would advance. I tried to get fancy and go for a big upset or I would have been eight for eight. Nonetheless, here are the eight teams and what I expect to happen this week. As a refresher, the top two teams from each pool advance to the final four.   Pool 1: 1. Blue Valley North, 4. Blue Valley West, 5. Washburn-Rural, 8. Maize   Pool 2: 2. Mill Valley, 3. Olathe Northwest, 6. Garden City, 7. Manhattan   Pool 1   Blue Valley North (34-3)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='154041' first='Logan' last='Parks'], [player_tooltip player_id='119693' first='Janelle' last='Green'], [player_tooltip player_id='173384' first='Jenna' last='McClure'], [player_tooltip player_id='152832' first='Felicia' last='Wu'], [player_tooltip player_id='445976' first='Reese' last='Maslowski'], [player_tooltip player_id='261109' first='Jaden' last='Goldberg']   Blue Valley North started the year winning their first twenty-five matches, before losing to second-seed Mill Valley. They lost again in the same tournament and have won eight straight since their last defeat to Mill Valley again. This team relies heavily on [player_tooltip player_id='154041' first='Logan' last='Parks'] and [player_tooltip player_id='119693' first='Janelle' last='Green'] to make things happen. [player_tooltip player_id='173384' first='Jenna' last='McClure'] has been a key scorer on the pin with over 200 kills on the year. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='445976' first='Reese' last='Maslowski'] has been reliable. The defense and passing of [player_tooltip player_id='152832' first='Felicia' last='Wu'] will be key in their march toward a state title.   Blue Valley West (29-9)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='173372' first='Lily' last='Wedman'], [player_tooltip player_id='480396' first='Peyton' last='Kubick'], [player_tooltip player_id='227605' first='Alex' last='Myers'], [player_tooltip player_id='173371' first='Ella' last='Davidson'], [player_tooltip player_id='173397' first='Allison' last='Heck'], [player_tooltip player_id='173395' first='Brookelyn' last='Hatton'], [player_tooltip player_id='223291' first='Alyssa' last='Young'], [player_tooltip player_id='222087' first='Carlie' last='Pandjaris']   The scary thing is all the players listed above are juniors or younger. Every loss this year comes to a team in the state tournament in Kansas. The other defeat came to Skutt Catholic out of Nebraska. It was a wait-and-hold-your-breath moment in week one when [player_tooltip player_id='173372' first='Lily' last='Wedman'] went down. She bounced back and has been back in the driver's seat since. [player_tooltip player_id='480396' first='Peyton' last='Kubick'] made her mark early in the season and the freshman has been stellar all year. Scoring shouldn't be an issue for this team and the eyes will be on Hatton, Young, and Pandjaris to keep the ball off the floor.   Washburn Rural (28-10)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='201027' first='Jada' last='Ingram'], [player_tooltip player_id='119699' first='Zoe' last='Canfield'], [player_tooltip player_id='223572' first='Stella' last='Kelly'], [player_tooltip player_id='386169' first='Layla' last='Collins'], Destiny Ochs   We know little about Washburn from the statistical lens. They don't post their stats. They went through a rough patch in their schedule in mid-September before finding a rhythm and going on a winning streak of their own. A big win over Maize South to close out the regular season was a big confidence booster. [player_tooltip player_id='201027' first='Jada' last='Ingram'] will be looked upon to carry the load offensively. The only team in this pool they've faced is Blue Valley West, with West winning the most latest contests a couple of weeks ago.   Maize (19-18)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='456612' first='Joscelyn' last='Buckley'], [player_tooltip player_id='119706' first='Chloe' last='Linville'], [player_tooltip player_id='219724' first='Lauren' last='Welch'], [player_tooltip player_id='119696' first='Jordyn' last='Bird'], [player_tooltip player_id='445549' first='Bethanie' last='Haag']   Maize ended the season in a tough tournament that saw them pick up some losses to some pretty good competition. They have a win over one team in the state tournament, Garden City. [player_tooltip player_id='456612' first='Joscelyn' last='Buckley'] has led the way for them offensively with around 3 kills per set.   Pool 1 Predictions: Blue Valley North and Blue Valley West advance   Pool 2   Mill Valley (32-5)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='152830' first='Kaitlyn' last='Burke'], [player_tooltip player_id='436201' first='Riley' last='Riggs'], [player_tooltip player_id='153938' first='Saida' last='Jacobs'], [player_tooltip player_id='493515' first='Ashlyn' last='Blazer'], [player_tooltip player_id='154038' first='Ella' last='Florez'], [player_tooltip player_id='489339' first='Corinne' last='Schwindt']   I've said this a couple of times now but I didn't expect this season from Mill Valley. They dropped their opening match to Blue Valley West. Ok, not a big deal. They were then defeated by Blue Valley North. Again, not a big deal. They then lost to Olathe South and to me that was a big deal. But they said don't worry about us and went and won 13 straight, including wins over Olathe Northwest and Blue Valley North. They are now on a 12-match win streak entering the state tournament. [player_tooltip player_id='154038' first='Ella' last='Florez'] has had a good second season leading the team. A key thing to keep an eye on this weekend is the play of [player_tooltip player_id='153938' first='Saida' last='Jacobs'] and [player_tooltip player_id='493515' first='Ashlyn' last='Blazer']. They have been big at the net turning back attacks.   Olathe Northwest (31-5)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='119707' first='Skyler' last='Pierce'], [player_tooltip player_id='119724' first='Jillian' last='Huckabey'], Lauren Roedinger, [player_tooltip player_id='119703' first='Emmy' last='Sher'], Katie Mccormick, [player_tooltip player_id='261101' first='Addisen' last='Horn']   Like Mill Valley, went down in the first match to St. Thomas Aquinas. The second match was Blue Valley North. Then ten straight wins before dropping a match to a down Blue Valley team. Today they won 17 matches in a row and playing as well as anyone in the state. Pierce and Huckabey are both averaging over 4 kills per set, so as they go this team will go. Roedinger has been good in the middle and Sher holds down the back row.   Garden City (25-13)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='173378' first='Piper' last='Harris'], Kamdyn Carr, KJ Pinchon, Lexi Arwine   Garden City is back to state after a 25-win season. They were slow out the gate losing six of their first nine matches but caught lightning in a bottle, going on a 13-match streak. They are the only team not holding a win over a state-qualified team in classes 5 or 6A. [player_tooltip player_id='173378' first='Piper' last='Harris'] has paced the team in kills with Lexi Arwine dishing the ball around to her hitters.   Manhattan (23-14)   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='483908' first='Bailey' last='Busch'], [player_tooltip player_id='495628' first='Tatum' last='Tindall'], [player_tooltip player_id='216390' first='Jaden' last='McGee'], [player_tooltip player_id='759748' first='Dakotah' last='Garcia'], Addison Cox, [player_tooltip player_id='516256' first='Serania' last='Fonoti']   Manhattan was tested early, embracing a five-match losing streak to some of the better teams in the state. They bounced back to win three straight before another short losing streak to another group of tough teams. I said last week in my district preview, that those losses are what made me pick them to advance to state. They beat the teams they were supposed to beat and competed against better competition. Cox and Fonoti have done well in the 6-2 running the show. Busch and Tindall are the key offensive weapons.   Pool 2 Predictions: Mill Valley and Olathe Northwest advance   Semi-Finals:   Blue Valley West vs. Olathe Northwest   Two of BVW's defeats came to Olathe Northwest this season. We discussed the quote-unquote youth of the team. On the other side, the Ravens are a senior-laden team with two of the top players in the state and country. We like ONW to advance.   Blue Valley North vs. Mill Valley   My on my. What a match. We shared earlier, that Mill Valley holds the advantage this year in head-to-head matchups. It's hard to beat a team three times they say but Mill Valley does have more offensive weapons on paper. Blue Valley North also has players who've played in big games before. That is the key in our mind, who is ready for the biggest match in their high school careers, and that scale tips towards BVN to get the win.   Championship   I can't call it. But if I was forced to then I'm picking Blue Va...wait Olathe...I really can't I hope for a great match if these two teams meet up.   3rd Place   Mill Valley over Blue Valley West     Olathe Northwest is the pick I think

Regardless of what the experts think, Class 6A is up for grabs with a loaded field. I was seven of eight in my picks of who would advance. I tried to get fancy and go for a big upset or I would have been eight for eight. Nonetheless, here are the eight teams and what I expect to happen this week. As a refresher, the top two teams from each pool advance to the final four.