Class 5A State Preview: Seaman Is The Target

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 Kansas State Volleyball tournament brackets were released on October 27.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eight teams in Class 5A will travel to Salina on November 1 to play in the afternoon session with the first matches scheduled for 3:30 p.m. starts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the second of multiple previews featuring athletes from teams competing in the state tournaments. If you missed it, the Class 6A state tournament was featured earlier this afternoon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This field has an odd feel to it. It could either be a nip-and-tuck, hard-fought tournament, or the defending state champion Seaman Vikings could win the tournament without dropping a set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I plan on being in Salina on Friday to watch Pool Play and then move on to Hutchinson on Saturday to watch the Class 4A and 3A semifinals and finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a quick look at both Pools and one prospect on each team. Stay tuned this week for more tournament previews and look for coverage of the tournament all weekend long.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool One: &nbsp;No. 1)</strong> Seaman (37-2), <strong>No. 4)</strong> Blue Valley Southwest (32-5), <strong>No. 5)</strong> St. Thomas Aquinas, <strong>No. 8)</strong> De Soto</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349383' first='Maggie' last='Moulden']</strong>, 5'11”, MB, Seaman, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not only are the Vikings an experienced club, but they are also very balanced. Moulden gets overlooked on this team, but she leads the Vikings in blocks with 80. She is a dual-sport prospect that I have scouted for both Prep Dig and Prep Girls Hoops. Seaman is the No. 1 Seed in the tournament and will face De Soto to open the tournament in a match scheduled to begin at 9:30.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222092' first='Willow' last='Weninger']</strong>, 6'1”, RS, Blue Valley Southwest, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw Southwest and Weninger play early in the season. They are a talented team, the question with them is can they win the big match? Weninger is one of three attackers with more than 200 kills. She leads the Timberwolves with 251 kills in 83 sets. She is currently ranked No. 16 overall by Prep Dig in the class of 2026 rankings. Southwest has just five losses on the season, but they came against Seaman, St. Thomas Aquinas, Gardner Edgerton, and Blue Valley West. The most impressive wins on Southwest's resume are over Lansing and Spring Hill.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153937' first='Alea' last='Goolsby']</strong>, 5'11”, S, St. Thomas Aquinas, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Goolsby is one of the best athletes in this field and is headed to Iowa State after graduation. Prep Dig Kansas has her ranked No. 3 overall and she is ranked No. 36 nationally by Prep Dig. She leads the Saints in kills with 418. The Saints have an impressive resume but have not played Seaman this season. Aquinas does own wins over Blue Valley Southwest, Washburn Rural, Bishop Miege, and Hayden. The Saints open Pool One play with a match against No. 4 Seed Blue Valley Southwest. My guess is the winner of that match will compete on Saturday, while the other takes an early trip home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='553797' first='Cadence' last='Shrout']</strong>, 5'11”, RS/OH, De Soto, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>De Soto is wearing the glass slipper in this tournament. The No. 12 overall seed in the East knocked off higher-seeded Pittsburg and Sumner Academy to punch their ticket to state. Shrout is an interesting prospect I like. She can play a little bit of everything and is a solid candidate to be a utility player at the college level. She is currently ranked No. 68 overall by Prep Dig Kansas. The Wildcats are battle-tested as they have eight losses against state tournament-qualified teams. De Soto opens the tournament against the top-seeded Vikings at 4:30 on Court A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool Two</strong>: <strong>No. 2)</strong> Great Bend (35-2), <strong>No. 3)</strong> Andover (31-4), <strong>No. 6)</strong> St. James Academy (28-6), <strong>No. 7)</strong> Kapaun Mt. Carmel (30-7).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='519098' first='Kara' last='Feist']</strong>, 6'0”, MB, Great Bend, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers are the wild card team in this tournament. Fiest has committed to Fort Hays State University after high school. She is a disrupter at the net with a team-high 74 total blocks in 81 sets. She has recorded 196 kills on a Panthers squad that features five players with more than 100 kills.  Great Bend is the No. 2 overall seed and if they don't go home with hardware it is a roster built for future success as they have talented sophomore and freshman classes. The Panthers open the tournament with a 4:30 scheduled match against Kapaun Mt. Carmel. The Panthers will be a team on upset alert as they had an extremely soft schedule. They only lost two matches and they were to state-qualified teams in Class 6A and 4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='480405' first='Brooke' last='Parham']</strong>, 5'9”, OH, Andover, '27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andover is a veteran club, but they have a sophomore hitter among the top in her class. Parham is currently ranked No. 16 overall in the class of 2027. She has collected 248 kills and 44 blocks for the Trojans. Andover is the No. 3 Seed in the 5A tournament and will begin pool play against St. James Academy at 3:30. They have two wins over Kapaun, and have not played Great Bend or St. James.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='173382' first='Ashlee' last='Chavez']</strong>, 5'10”, RS, St. James Academy, ‘25 (Pictured Above)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chavez is ranked No. 30 in the class of 2025. She has verbally committed to play for Missouri Southern after graduation. She and the four other Thunder seniors would love to end their high school careers as state champs. St. James opens the tournament against Andover in the 3:30 time slot. St. James has not played any of the teams in Pool Two and have multiple losses to teams in Pool One. Chavez is a physical hitter who could contribute early for the Missouri Southern Lions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219717' first='Kaitlyn' last='Cure']</strong>, 5'9”, OH, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cure is one of the top-ranked uncommitted athletes in the class of 2025. She is ranked No. 69 overall by Prep Dig. She is among the team's leaders in digs, kills, and serve receptions. Kapaun Mt. Carmel upset Andover Central to earn its bid to the state tournament. The Crusaders are not very tall, but they are disciplined and have several solid defenders. Two of the team's losses have come to Andover.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->