2024 Hy-Vee Arena Invitational Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>28 teams will battle it out inside Hy-Vee Arena in the historic West Bottoms of Kansas City. One of the largest tournaments in the city will feature teams coming from near and far. I will be on-site to check out the action. The tournament will start with four-team pools, two sets per match—each team advances to bracket play, the first-place teams going with the first, and so on. Bracket play will be the best two out of three. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Raymore Peculiar (8-8), Adrian (7-3), Maryville (6-7), Ewing Kauffman (1-3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ray-Pec to date has the toughest schedule and is probably the most battle-tested. Adrian is off to a good start and will get some good competition with Raymore and Maryville. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool B</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Faith Christian Academy, Chilhowee (13-3-1), St. Joesph Central (5-13-1), Hogan Prep (0-5)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FCA typically has a quality squad. Chihowee is a Class 1 school looking to play up in competition. Central has played some quality teams in their 19 matches. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool C</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lone Jack (10-2), Rock Port (6-8-1), Life Prep Academy (0-4), Smithville (6-5-1)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lone Jack comes in with 10 wins. Rock Port will make the trip down I-29 to play some bigger schools. Smithville bounced back to be Raytown South after dropping a tough 5-set match to St. Pius to start the week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool D</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sherwood (2-6-2), Truman (13-2-1), Trenton (3-12-2), Kingsville (1-4)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Truman is one of the surprises early in the year with some big wins over some top Kansas City teams. Sherwood, Trenton, and Kingsville will all look to get a winning streak going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool E</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lathrop (6-12-1), Stover (11-3-1), Grandview (3-6-1), Crossroads Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stover is the winner of four straight matches and enters the tournament with momentum. I don't think Grandview's record is accurate as I believe they won a tournament last weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool F</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summit Christian (8-6-1), St. Joseph Benton (6-3), Mound City (9-5-2), Guadalupe Center</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This could be a competitive pool with three teams having plus 500 records on the year. Summit Christian has played tough teams across Kansas City. Benton doesn't have any bad losses. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool G</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln Prep (6-3), Savannah (9-2-1), Pleasant Hill (8-6), William Chrisman (4-12)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Savannah has shown they are a contender this year. Lincoln Prep is off to a good start and Pleasant Hill has been a strong program over the last five years and could use this tournament as the penultimate into the second half of the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->