Post-Season Spotlight: Class 2 Sectional 5 & 6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 2 has a clear-cut favorite in Fair Grove; I don't see that changing much. Can Diamond make a considerable turnout from a loss two weeks ago to Fair Grove and pull the upset? Liberty and Miller should be a battle. Both teams have their leading players who will step up from the shadows to make the big plays needed to help them advance to the sectional round. Here's my preview for the Class 2 Sectional round for 5 and 6.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 5</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty Mountian View Eagles 20-9-5 vs. <strong>Miller Cardinals 28-6-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How they got here:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty knocked off Thayer in the semifinal 25-15, 25-21, 25-15 and then pulled the upset over #1 Cabool in the championship 25-23, 25-15, 25-23 to win the school's 5^th straight district championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miller had a much more challenging time winning their district. In the semifinals, they had to survive Marionville in 5, winning the 5^th set 15-13. Miller had to endure the championship match over New Covenant Academy 24-26, 25-13, 28-26, and 25-23 to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Players:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Miller:</strong> The Cardinals are led by a trio of 2026 players who've started varsity from day one. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='490143' first='Camden' last='Stockton'] </strong>is the team assists leader with 972. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237008' first='Ashlynn' last='Helton']</strong> led the team with 459 kills, followed by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='490122' first='Rachel' last='Nunez']</strong> with 322.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Liberty:</strong> <strong>Korie Lind</strong> carries much of the offense with 334 kills, <strong>Bryleigh Wallace</strong> has 252, and <strong>Jaylie Tharp</strong> adds 113. The coach's daughter, <strong>Jordyn Tune,</strong> runs the offense with 400 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Common Opponents:</strong> 11 teams have played both schools, and Liberty has a record of 5-4-2 while Miller's is 6-4-1. The one opponent I will focus on is Winona. Liberty was swept by Winona 0-3, while Miller split with Winona in the first-season match during the Verona Tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Miller has been playing strong all season. The Cardinals will have the same kill leaders. Still, the difference will be with role players like Loghann Leivan and Layni Johnson, who will play a huge role defensively to give Miller the 3-2 win and move Miller into the Quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 6</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Diamond Wildcats 23-12-2 vs. <strong>Fair Grove Eagles 37-0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How they got here:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Diamond reached the sectional round by sweeping New Heights Christian 3-0 and slipping past Sarcoxie 3-1. Fair Grove's defending Class 2 Champions are undefeated and posed to make a run to the final four. After sweeping by Skyline in the semifinal round of district Fair Grove, I met up with rival El Dorado Springs, my #2 team in Class 2. Fair Grove knocked out the Bulldogs again this year by the scores of 25-14, 24-26, 25-20, and 25-17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Players:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fair Grove:</strong> The Eagles are stacked from top to bottom, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349621' first='Brooke' last='Daniels']</strong> makes Fair Grove go offensively and defensively. The 2025 setter leads the team in assists with 1031 digs with 468 and 144 kills. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='493046' first='Shea' last='Skouby']</strong> again leads the attack with 341 kills, followed by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='735242' first='Sofee' last='Garrett']</strong> with 254 and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737639' first='Abbey' last='Green'] </strong>with 205 kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Diamond:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737632' first='Lauren' last='Turner']</strong> is the big bomber for Diamond with 310 kills, followed by <strong>Aubrey Ball </strong>with 186 and <strong>Kabrie Parmley</strong> with 178 kills. <strong>Addie Beckett</strong> carries the weight of driving to keep the ball off the floor and does a fantastic job with her 537 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Common Opponents: </strong>Diamond is 4-5 against common opponents, while Fair Grove is undefeated<strong>.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>These two met the week before districts started, and Fair Grove thumped Diamond 25-6, 25-18, and 25-13. In the match, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737632' first='Lauren' last='Turner']</strong> finished with seven of the team's 11 kills, while Fair Grove was led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='735242' first='Sofee' last='Garrett']'s</strong> 11 kills, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737639' first='Abbey' last='Green']'s</strong> seven and eight blocks, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737648' first='Ashton' last='Bell']'s</strong> 12 digs. The rematch will be no different, and I expect Fair Grove will hold the Diamond offense in check and sweep its way into the quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->