Class 4 Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched my top two compete at the Rockwood Tournament, with St. Pius X taking the sweep. Will Belton keep rolling to reach the school's first final four, or will the Guardians knock them out of districts? St. Pius X is loaded from top to bottom of the roster. St. Michael has a ton of potential and will make another run at the final four. In Class 4, you must win districts and one other match to make it to the final four. Here are my top 10 teams in Class 4, so it should be an exciting season come the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. <strong>St. Pius X (Festus) 15-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only loss was a 1-2 battle for the Brace for Life Championship against one of Illinois' top teams in Mater Dei. Other than that, the team has been on fire. Biggest question mark coming into the season was the defense. The play of <strong>Harper Gass</strong> and <strong>Madyson Bohnert </strong>has answered that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2. <strong>St. Michael Guardians 8-3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Guardian's only loss to a Class 4 team was to #1 St. Pius X. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='732904' first='Jordan' last='Redd']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='396499' first='Kinley' last='Gillihan']</strong> do the damage up front, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='493102' first='Katie' last='Vargo']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219755' first='Epi' last='Salamasina']</strong> are tops in digs. Come districts, they will have to get past current undefeated Belton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3. <strong>Belton Lady Pirates 13-0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I wasn't sure how good Belton would be this year, but a win over Class 5 Park Hill South tells me they are legit. With the play of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='729502' first='Dreya' last='Scherfenberg']</strong> on the outside, Belton has a trio of big-time blasters who will make a ton of noise this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4. <strong>Carl Junction Bulldogs 10-0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carl Junction started the season with a 3-2 win over Kickapoo, and the winning streak hasn't stopped. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='178046' first='Karissa' last='Chase']</strong> leads the attack with 128 kills, and  2025 <strong>Jocelyn Wengert</strong> guides the defense with 128 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5. <strong>Jefferson City Jays 7-4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The record isn't flashy, but they've beaten some outstanding teams, including Nixa and Kickapoo, and taken Ozark to 5. Three losses came in the tough Rockwood Tournament to Marquette, St. Pius X, and St. Michael. 2027, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='475325' first='Leah' last='Heisler']</strong> is leading the team in kills with 82, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='477959' first='Aydia' last='Mayotte']</strong> has been playing some nasty defense to keep the team going.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6. <strong>Union Wildcats 11-3-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My surprise team so far is the Union Wildcats. They entered the Borgia Tournament and knocked off Westminster Christian and Parkway West to win the title. 2026 5'8” outside <strong>Kordylia Durham </strong>is tops in kills with 137, and 2026 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='545769' first='Morgan' last='Sherwood']</strong> runs the offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7. <strong>Festus Tigers 8-2-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers have lost to Valle Catholic and Lindbergh, both tough teams. They have a win over Farmington in 5, which helps put Festus in the rankings. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='485629' first='Rylee' last='Lawrence']</strong> and <strong>Jersey Latham</strong> slam the balls in the front while <strong>Delaney Schmitt </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222581' first='Jessie' last='Hawkins']</strong> carry the team defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8. <strong>Marshfield Blue jays 13-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marshfield is off to another hot start to the season and is only taking lumps from Strafford and Fair Grove. Next month, a date with Carl Junction will be an exciting matchup. If Marshfield can win, they will skyrocket in the following rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>9. <strong>Pacific Indians 10-4-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's my sneaky pick to make a run come playoffs. Pacific has plenty of firepower to be dangerous to anyone they play. It's whether or not they can put together a complete match of solid passing. If so, the Indians will be scary. <strong>Baylee Moore, [player_tooltip player_id='170037' first='Caroline' last='Tomlinson'], [player_tooltip player_id='170039' first='Kaitlin' last='Payne']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='540292' first='Kaitlyn' last='Hanger']</strong> provide the offense needed to win big games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>10. <strong>Farmington Knights 12-4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> The Knights have lost to St. Pius X, Potosi, Festus, and Belleville East, IL. They do have Potosi and Jackson coming up at the beginning of October. <strong>Ava Cooper, [player_tooltip player_id='569674' first='Brenna' last='Botkin'],</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737524' first='Cheyenne' last='Strohkirch']</strong> carry the offensive load for the Knights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->