Class 4 District 3 & 4 Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 4 District 3 and 4 have their clear-up favorites, and Burroughs will have a relatively easy path to the title match in District 3. Ladue or Clayton could pull the upsets, but they would need an on-night for everyone on the court. District 4 is a little more balanced in the top four, but the seeds should follow the path to the title. If Parkway Central's libero is back and can take control of the backcourt, they have the potential for upsets to win the district. Here is my preview of the Class 4 District 3 and 4.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":1} --> <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>John Burroughs 16-7-1</strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Ladue 10-18-3</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Clayton 7-10</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hazelwood East 22-4-3</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Gateway 10-9</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Confluence Prep 6-5</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>University City 5-20-2</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Riverview Gardens 1-13</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Roosevelt 3-14-1</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinal 1:</strong> <strong>Burroughs</strong> vs. Hazelwood East</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burroughs will sweep Hazelwood East with little effort.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinal 2:</strong> <strong>Ladue</strong> vs. Clayton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two met once this season, and Ladue won 3-0.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='237704' first='Gabrielle' last='Clinkscale'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='544666' first='Giselle' last='Stoeva']</strong> are the Rams' offense weapons, putting down 23 in the win.<strong> Isabela Infante</strong> carried the greyhounds in the loss with eight. Ladue gets the sweep to move to the finals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals</strong>: <strong>Burroughs</strong> vs. Ladue</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two squared off a couple of weeks ago, and Burroughs took home a 25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15 win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222578' first='Georgia' last='Hite']</strong> and <strong>Ries </strong>Schnuck scored 30 kills in the win, while G<strong>iselle Stoeva </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237704' first='Gabrielle' last='Clinkscale']</strong> finished with 20. The two outside hitters for the Burroughs drop bombs all night on Ladue and overtake the Rams 3-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":1} --> <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hannibal 24-7</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Lutheran 19-13</strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Parkway Central 15-12-5</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Ft. Zumwalt South 11-11-1</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Parkway North 11-9-1</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Ft. Zumwalt East 5-11</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Charles 5-14</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>McCluer 11-12-2</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>McCluer North 10-10</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinal 1: Hannibal</strong> vs. Ft. Zumwalt South</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hannibal was fine with McCluer North and FT. Zumwalt South got by Parkway North 3-1. Hannibal and South have not played this season, but the common opponent, North Point, will help dictate the outcome. Hannibal has wins over North Point, while North Point has beaten Ft. Zumwalt South. <strong>Maddy Clarke</strong> and <strong>Sydney Fenton</strong> keep South in the match. Still, Hannibal's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='469947' first='Malia' last='Stolte']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='450243' first='Emilia' last='Bates']</strong> put down some big kills to give Hannibal the 3-1 victory to advance to the district championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinal 2:</strong> <strong>Lutheran</strong> vs. Parkway Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is another first-time meeting this season for both squads. Central has <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='485600' first='Madelyn' last='Schaefer']</strong> and <strong>Keri Piepho</strong> on the pins, which can terminate at will. Lutheran will counter with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737531' first='Lacey' last='Zumbehl']</strong>, who has one of the best Class 4 setters in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='168046' first='Katelyn' last='Diani-O'Day']</strong> and can do many nifty things with the ball. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='630719' first='Samantha' last='O'Day']</strong> had a massive match and helped Lutheran pull out the 3-1 win over Central.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals:</strong> Hannibal vs.<strong> Lutheran</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first time meetings in the final, Hannibal will face Lutheran. Both teams have a familiar opponent in North Point. Hannibal has two wins over NP, and Lutheran lost to NP in the third match of the season. The big difference in these teams is the strength of their schedule. Both teams lost to Westminster by similar scores, but the one thing that gives me the nod for Lutheran is Hannibal's losses to Troy. Lutheran is battle-tested each night as they don't shy from tough teams. Lutheran will take the title with a 3-1 win led by a big blocking night by <strong>Heidi Sparks</strong> and <strong>Aubrey Goellner</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->