Class 5 Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Over the last decade, one team has known and owned Class 5: the Lafayette Lancers. From the early part of the season, Lafayette looks better than it did last year, and that's saying something considering what it lost to graduation. Defensively, the team is sound, but offensively, they are being carried by two players. Please don't get me wrong, those two hitters are incredibly talented athletes, but to win Class 5, you need a full arsenal of weapons. If IWA gets healthy, they could push Lafayette. Liberty, Liberty North, [program_tooltip program_id='428790' first='Park' last='Hills'] South, and Lee's Summit on the west side of the state could have something to do with Lafayette not making it a three-peat. Here's my top 10 for Class 5.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. <strong>Lafayette Lancers 13-0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Until they get beat by a Class 5 Missouri team, they will stay my top team. <strong>Addy Wiese, Ella Scerba,</strong> and <strong>Megan Muschick</strong> keep the ball off the floor so the big guns up front can keep blasting away. The Rockwood Tournament was a great indication of how good this Lafayette team is. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='475339' first='Shaye' last='Witherspoon'],</strong> 2027, has been almost unstoppable, with 147 kills and averaging nearly 5 kills a set. A three-set win over National [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] St. James Academy, KS, solidifies the number one spot in Class 5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2. <strong>Incarnate Word Academy 12-5</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>IWA went down to Florida looking for some teams to swamp and came back with a second-place finish. They took some lumps from Kickapoo, Nixa, and Blue Springs in the Rockwood Tournament. IWA is second because they are doing all of this without one of the top players in the nation. If they get Tara back in the lineup, they will be extremely dangerous come late October and early November. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='245321' first='Cate' last='McCulloch']</strong> is damaging either pin for the Red Knights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3. <strong>Park Hill South Panthers 15-4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers have a win over Liberty North, who has a win over Lee's Summit West, making PHS my #3 team. The only team from Missouri to beat the Panthers was Belton. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219763' first='Peyton' last='Liming']</strong> and <strong>Sydn</strong>i <strong>Lafasciano</strong> are a heck of a combo. A date with Lafayette will give me a better idea of what this Panther team can do.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4. <strong>Liberty Blue Jays 11-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knocking off crosstown rival Liberty North in five sets was a huge win, and it most likely earned them the number one seed in districts. USC commit [player_tooltip player_id='153930' first='Abigail' last='Mullen'], who has a heavy arm and does most of the damage. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219760' first='Megan' last='Bishton']</strong> and <strong>Katelyn Spengler</strong> help with the middle and left pins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5. <strong>St. Dominic Crusaders 11-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only loss on the season was to National [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] St. James Academy, KS, at the Rockwood Tournament, and it was a doozy. 16-25, 25-19, 24-26. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='544668' first='Madelyn' last='Mannebach']</strong>, 2027 opposite, is tearing it up on the right. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='545696' first='Mandy' last='Lawson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='174406' first='Brytn' last='Lyon']</strong> reached milestones recently, which I'll cover later. Dates with Ursuline Academy, Marquette, Lafayette, and Incarnate Word are still needed to determine how good this Crusader team can be.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6. <strong>Ozark Tigers 9-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With only one loss on the season, to Mater Dei, IL, 19-25, 17-25, Ozark will again be a hard win. After a trip to Illinois last week, they head off to Arkansas to take on some of the top teams in the state. They are in a brutal district with Nixa and Kickapoo and have matches against them in October. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219778' first='Tara' last='Venable'], [player_tooltip player_id='219783' first='Skylar' last='Hilton']</strong>, and <strong>Brinley Watson</strong> have had big offensive seasons for the Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7. <strong>Liberty North Eagles 6-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volleyball town Liberty has two top-notch Class 5 teams. Liberty North lost to Liberty in 5, making a matchup in the districts again a much-anticipated rematch for the Eagles. 2025s <strong>Mckenna Jacquin, [player_tooltip player_id='153935' first='Makenzie' last='Miller']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349622' first='Reagan' last='Herring']</strong> led the team in kills. The Eagles have several more tournaments and a date with Lee's Summit West and St. Michael the last week of the month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8. <strong>Nixa Eagles 10-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nixa has some nice wins over Fayetteville, AR, Jackson, IWA, and Cor Jesu but has lost to Marquette and Jefferson City. They go to Arkansas over the weekend and have Kickapoo and Ozark next month. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='490209' first='Gwen' last='Kubik']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219780' first='Chloe' last='Judd']</strong> have been tough offensively this season, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612171' first='Peyton' last='Creed']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='490207' first='Taylor' last='Wood']</strong> give them the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>9. <strong>Marquette Mustangs 9-5</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team intrigues me because I've watched them play multiple times this season, and when they are on, they look excellent. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='207269' first='Mallory' last='Sell']</strong> is an outstanding six-rotation outside, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='220349' first='Teagan' last='Pocius']</strong> is just breaking records at Marquette. But the play of <strong>Rachel Breidenbach</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='229558' first='Maggie' last='Smith']</strong> sets this team apart. If Marquette gets Jel at the right time, they can make a dangerous team come playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>10. <strong>Rock Bridge Bruins 13-3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Of the three losses, two have come to out-of-state teams; the other was to St. Dominic at the Rockwood Tournament. The Bruins have wins over Lee's Summit West and Kickapoo. Helias, Kickapoo, Nixa, Jefferson City, and Marquette are games to watch. <strong>Reese Ihler, [player_tooltip player_id='540285' first='Ava' last='Renner'],</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237014' first='Maeve' last='Rush']</strong> led the Bruins in kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->