Class 5 District 3 & 4 Preview

Class 5 will be a brutal battle from the district semifinals to the finals. In years past, there has always been 1 team that stands out, and the field is wide open this season. With Incarnate Word being moved to class 5, the scene in District 3 will look completely different. Can IWA win districts to keep hopes alive for a Class 5 title this year? Can Pattonville, Westminster, or Howell Central pull a huge upset to win District 3? In District 4, will St. Dominic get back on a winning streak and pull out the title, or can Howell win to keep their hopes alive of a repeat to the final four? The action starts tonight, so be somewhere watching your favorite team.   District 3   <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Incarnate Word Academy 24-10</li> </ol>   9. Hazelwood Central 1-11   8. Hazelwood West 12-22-2   4. Francis Howell Central 15-11   5. Francis Howell North 11-16   2. Pattonville 21-8   7. Ritenour 14-13-1   3. Westminster Christian 24-5-2   6. Ft. Zumwalt North 11-12-1   Prediction:   Semifinal 1: IWA vs. Howell Central   Central has one of the best 2025 players in the state, [player_tooltip player_id='153933' first='Jordan' last='Smith'], but will she have enough to overcome the powerhouse IWA? IWA has played all season without its D1 recruit, [player_tooltip player_id='169895' first='Tara' last='Greenberry'], and has had a great season. They've lost ten games but are still one of the top teams in the state. Think about that! Your best player hardly plays all season, and your team is still among the top Class 5 teams. I've not seen a defense like IWA's all season, which will take them far. I have seen teams better than them offensively, but the combination makes the Red Knights hard to beat. [player_tooltip player_id='244664' first='Ally' last='Fuchs'], [player_tooltip player_id='475328' first='Audrey' last='Schaeffer'], and Ella Von Almen are some of the best passing and defensive trio in the state in any class. If Central wants to compete in this match, they must get [player_tooltip player_id='153933' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] about 50 attempts, and Jordan must get a high kill percentage to keep Central in the game. [player_tooltip player_id='776729' first='Ava' last='Schuette'], Logan Rubel, and Kenzy Held must compliment Jordan offensively. Defensively, Central is pretty solid. IWA gets the sweep as the passing game for IWA is tough to beat.   Semifinal 2: Pattonville vs. Westminster Christian   Pattonville won 15-11 in the fifth in the last meeting between these two teams. In that match, [player_tooltip player_id='168035' first='Reagan' last='Nelson'] hit .347 with 39 kills, and if she can duplicate this performance, Pattonville can pull it out. Westminster is one of those teams that I'm like, oh, they are amazing. Defensively, both teams are pretty even, but Nelson touches the ball twice a lot off serve receive, and when she's on, she's hard to slow down. You won't stop her, but you can slow her down. Westminster has the height on the block, which may slow her down. For Westminster to win, [player_tooltip player_id='549463' first='Emory' last='Freesmeier'] and [player_tooltip player_id='493069' first='Myah' last='Derossett'] must be huge in the middle. Blocking and tough serving could give Westminster the edge, but Pattonville will stay in the system, and [player_tooltip player_id='168035' first='Reagan' last='Nelson'] will guide her team into the finals with another 5-set win.   Finals: Incarnate Word vs. Pattonville   This match will be David vs. Goliath, and IWA is Goliath. Can Pattonville pull this off and knock off IWA, the defending Class 4 champions? If they plan on getting the upset victory, some of the role players for Pattonville will have to have bigger-than-normal performances for this to happen. If IWA has [player_tooltip player_id='169895' first='Tara' last='Greenberry'], this will be a partial contest, but Pattonville could pull off the upset with her. Faith Cunningham must have considerable performance blocking, and [player_tooltip player_id='237000' first='Jenna' last='Cochran'] must keep tons of balls off the floor. [player_tooltip player_id='169896' first='Ellie' last='Witthaus'], [player_tooltip player_id='475326' first='Bailey' last='Hensgens'], [player_tooltip player_id='245321' first='Cate' last='McCulloch'], and Sydney Clark must be ready to terminate. IWA with the sweep to keep its hopes of a Class 5 title going.   District 4   1. St. Dominic 24-7   8. Troy 6-18   4. Ft. Zumwalt West 21-6   5. North Point 17-11-2   2. Francis Howell 23-7   7. Liberty 10-12   6. Borgia 11-16-2   3. Timberland 19-7-1   Prediction:   Semifinal 1: St. Dominic vs. Ft. Zumwalt West   St. Dominic thumps Troy, while West pulls out a five-setter against North Point. 2028 Ady Buttrum and [player_tooltip player_id='540299' first='Riley' last='Marecek'] lead West, while St. Dominic has a potent offense led by one of the best setters in [player_tooltip player_id='174406' first='Brytn' last='Lyon']. West will need more than two players to compete with St. Dominic to hit double-digit kills. St. Dominic has been my surprise team all season, and I see them sweeping this match-up. Maddy Mannebach has a much bigger night than the previous meeting.   Semifinal 2: Howell vs. Timberland   Howell and Timberland swept quarterfinal opponents, setting up a rematch of the season's first match, which Howell won 3-0. [player_tooltip player_id='174405' first='Abby' last='Chall'] and [player_tooltip player_id='544996' first='Reagan' last='Lyerla'] did all the damage in the loss, getting 23 of the team's 29 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='170047' first='Danielle' last='Moore'], in the win, finished with 21 kills. Danielle is hard to stop; if Timberland wants the upset, they will need a more balanced attack. [player_tooltip player_id='170047' first='Danielle' last='Moore'], [player_tooltip player_id='174285' first='Avery' last='Helms'], and [player_tooltip player_id='153928' first='Morgan' last='Christine Dumm'] are looking to make a return to the Class 5 championship match, and for that to happen, Danielle will have another big night to help the Vikings get the 3-0 sweep over Timberland.   Finals:   St. Dominic vs. Howell   After the biggest win in program history, the victory over Lafayette, the Crusaders have gone 2-5. During that stretch, they won over Marquette and Lee's Summit West and lost to Eureka, St. Joseph's, Incarnate Word, Blue Valley West, and St. Thomas Aquinas from KS. So they've been preparing for this late October run and getting knocked around before districts are fine. Howell is on an eight-game win streak into this final. [player_tooltip player_id='170047' first='Danielle' last='Moore'] has been ridiculous this year with her 524 kills. This will come down to whether Howell gets more production from other hitters to keep the St. Dominic defense from cheating to cover Danielle. The Class 5 runner-up will fall to St. Dominic in 5 behind big games from its role players like Mackenzie Carff and [player_tooltip player_id='735635' first='Natalie' last='Frazier'] and how much offense [player_tooltip player_id='174406' first='Brytn' last='Lyon'] produces by calling her number.

Class 5 will be a brutal battle from the district semifinals to the finals. In years past, there has always been 1 team that stands out, and the field is wide open this season. With Incarnate Word being moved to class 5, the scene in District 3 will look completely different. Can IWA win districts to keep hopes alive for a Class 5 title this year? Can Pattonville, Westminster, or Howell Central pull a huge upset to win District 3? In District 4, will St. Dominic get back on a winning streak and pull out the title, or can Howell win to keep their hopes alive of a repeat to the final four? The action starts tonight, so be somewhere watching your favorite team.