Champions Salute – Blair Oaks 31-5-1
Prep Dig Staff
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<p>Winning one State Championship is hard but to do it three years straight is an incredible feat. Blair Oaks had never reached the final four until 2021. After coming in and winning the state championship in 2021 they had the foundation laid out for a repeat in 2022. Before the 2021 season, Blair Oaks had only won districts three times and was 0-3 in playoff games. The Falcons haven't been creampuffs either since they won their district in 2010 as they would average 22 wins a season until 2021. Expectations are now higher than ever for the program.</p>
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<p>To start the season, I had the Falcons picked to win it again. After a coaching change and a slow start to the season going 3-2 on the first weekend of the season, I thought they might have a hard time repeating. They would win 18 of their last 19 on the way to the title. Playoffs were not so easy after winning districts. A battle in the quarterfinals against Clayton slipped past in the 5<sup>th</sup> set 15-8 to make a return trip to Cape. A sweep of Pleasant Hill in the semifinals pitted the defending champions against a talent group of 2026 players from Ursuline Academy. After dropping the first two sets to Ursuline 19-25, 20-25, Blair Oaks would squeak out the 3<sup>rd</sup> set 25-22 and the 4<sup>th</sup> 25-18. In the 5<sup>th</sup> set, Blair Oaks showed why they were the two-time defending champs by racing out to a commanding lead to win the third straight Class 3 title.</p>
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<p>The future of the program will still be bright. After each of those first two titles they had to replace key players and do so to keep winning. Next year will be a lot different as they graduate three of the best players in program history. Lefty opposite [player_tooltip player_id='124226' first='Autumn' last='Bax'] leaves as the school's all-time kill leader, they also will lose setter [player_tooltip player_id='234314' first='Libby' last='Juergensmeyer'] and outside [player_tooltip player_id='150054' first='Bailey' last='Braun']. Two of the best setters and outside hitters in program history.</p>
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<p><strong>Top Returners:</strong></p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='476879' first='Gabby' last='Horn'] will be the top returning attacker who led the team with 22 kills in the title match. Others possibly to fill roles will be outside Maddy Jones and Chloe Heislen. Middles Kylie Hickman and Aubrey Boeckmann and a big need for a setter.</p>
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Winning one State Championship is hard but to do it three years straight is an incredible feat. Blair Oaks had never reached the final four until 2021. After coming in and winning the state championship in 2021 they had the foundation laid out for a repeat in 2022. Before the 2021 season, Blair Oaks had only won districts three times and was 0-3 in playoff games. The Falcons haven't been creampuffs either since they won their district in 2010 as they would average 22 wins a season until 2021. Expectations are now higher than ever for the program.
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