Ryan's Class 3 Final Four Preview

Semifinal 1: Ursuline Academy Bears 15-13 vs. Clever Lady Jays 31-5-3   From the records, this looks like a complete mismatch but don't be fooled by Ursuline's record. They play in the stacked conference with the likes of St. Joseph's Academy, Cor Jesu, Nerinx Hall, and Incarnate Word. They swept through districts with wins over Gateway, Bayless, and Notre Dame STL. They stomped Cardinal Ritter in Sectionals and then dispatched Saxony Lutheran in the quarterfinals 3-1. Clever has a much better record and hasn't lost a single set throughout districts and the playoffs. Sweeps of Bolivar, Logan-Rogersville, and St. Clair in Sectionals and then Mountain Grove in quarterfinals.   Common Opponents: None   Head-to-Head: No   Statistical leaders for Ursuline:   [player_tooltip player_id='207581' first='Jillian' last='Raterman'] has 165 kills.   [player_tooltip player_id='224817' first='Elizabeth' last='Koenig'] has 135 kills, 256 assists, and 163 digs.   Mikayla Ziemianski has 107 kills.   [player_tooltip player_id='490583' first='Lucy' last='Ellsworth'] has 304 assists.   Statistical leaders for Clever:   [player_tooltip player_id='495308' first='Morgan' last='Bos'] has 385 kills and 194 digs.   [player_tooltip player_id='493018' first='Addie' last='Gilmore'] has 251 kills and 70 blocks.   Sydney Bollenbach has 473 digs.   Audrey Riley has 619 assists.   Prediction: I'm at a toss-up on this match. Ursuline has a monster conference to navigate and plays a majority of Class 4 and 5 programs. Clever has a great record but not sure their schedule stacks up against the Bears. Something I'm not a fan of is teams with incomplete stats and Ursuline seems to have that on all platforms I could find. Ursuline's top three players are 2026 athletes. Clever isn't hiding anything as you can find stats and videos all over the place. Clever takes the win in 5 to move on to the school's first championship appearance in its 2nd final four.   Semifinal 2: Pleasant Hill Chicks 20-9-1 vs. Blair Oaks Falcons 29-5-1   This will be a rematch of last year's Class 3 championship won by Blair Oaks.   Common Opponents: Both beat Boonville and Lutheran STC, Pleasant Hill tied California while Blair Oaks beat California 3-0. Blair Oaks beat California 3-0 and Southern Boone 3-1 to win districts. In the sectional match, they swept Fulton and nip Clayton 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Pleasant Hill had an easier time with a sweep against Warsaw and Harrisonville for the district title and then embarrassed Hogan Prep in sectionals and swept Savannah to reach the final four.    Head-to-Head: No   Statistical leaders for Pleasant Hill:   [player_tooltip player_id='168899' first='Abygail' last='Widhalm'] 402 kills and 254 digs.   [player_tooltip player_id='475332' first='Miley' last='Layton'] has 105 kills.   [player_tooltip player_id='495317' first='Gabriela' last='Hanes'] has 523 assists and 155 kills.   [player_tooltip player_id='219766' first='Riley' last='Hays'] has 230 kills and 139 digs.   Statistical leaders for Blair Oaks:   [player_tooltip player_id='124226' first='Autumn' last='Bax'] has 428 kills and 105 blocks.   Aubrey Sandbothe has 127 blocks.   Amber Samson has 274 digs.   [player_tooltip player_id='234314' first='Libby' last='Juergensmeyer'] has 994 digs.   Prediction: I've said this all year that Blair Oaks is my favorite to repeat for the third year in a row. Pleasant Hill has everything to knock off Blair Oaks, but they will need a ton more production from supporting cast to do so. Blair Oaks has three of the better hitters in Class 3 and probably the best setter. Blair Oaks moves on to the championship for the third straight season with a 3-1 win over the Chicks from Pleasant Hill.

Semifinal 1: Ursuline Academy Bears 15-13 vs. Clever Lady Jays 31-5-3