Tournament Champions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Webb City Cardinals 19-3-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Webb City finished the CJ Classic undefeated, knocking off Aurora, West Plains, Nevada, and Girard, KS. In the semifinals, Webb City took on undefeated Belton. Webb City would take a 23-25, 25-22, 25-19 win to move on to the finals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222056' first='Bella' last='Scherfenberg']</strong> and <strong>Dreya</strong> <strong>Scherfenberg</strong> paced Belton with 26 combined kills in the loss. Webb City would get a massive performance from [player_tooltip player_id='236997' first='Jaeli' last='Rutledge']: 21 kills and five blocks. The finals pitted rival WC and the host Carl Junction for the 3^rd straight year. Webb City would get the best of Carl Junction, taking a 25-13 and 25-21 win. <strong>Maddy Huffman</strong> was the kill leader for CJ with eight. Webb City was led defensively by <strong>Avery Gardener</strong> with 16 digs and [player_tooltip player_id='222067' first='Savannah' last='Crane'] with 18 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lesterville Bearcats 13-6-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a decade of not playing a tournament, the Black River League Tournament was reinstated this year. In the semifinals, there was a rematch of a game three days prior that Lesterville would win in four. This time, the Bearcats made quick work of the Eagles and came away with a 25-13, 25-14 win to move to the championship. [player_tooltip player_id='170049' first='Sidney' last='Hawkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='475347' first='Rylee' last='Laughman'] put down seven kills and received four from <strong>Talyah Maize. Olivia Sieve</strong> led the defense with nine digs, and [player_tooltip player_id='737717' first='Faith' last='Stulce'] dished out 13 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='236987' first='Kinsey' last='Barton'] and <strong>Maddy Dickerson </strong>finished with 13 and seven. The championship match pitted Lesterville and Ellington. Ellington made the finals by knocking out South Iron 25-23, 8-25, 25-22. Ellington knocked off Lesterville in the second week of the season in 4. The host Bearcat squad came to play and ran through the Whippets 25-18, 25-22, and 25-20 to win the Black River League Tournament Championship. [player_tooltip player_id='170049' first='Sidney' last='Hawkins'] had a monster night with 16 kills and five from 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='475347' first='Rylee' last='Laughman'] and 2028 <strong>Natalie Mair </strong>contributed four.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":698067,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1149.jpg?w=960" alt="" class="wp-image-698067" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Festus Tigers 14-5-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tradition-rich Tigers started pool play with a win over Parkway South and Visitation Academy. The host Lutheran would give the Tigers a 0-2 defeat. Festus would regroup and knock off Lindbergh, which is impressive, and then a rematch with the host Lutheran in the finals. Festus would get revenge in the finals and topple Lutheran 25-14, 24-26, 25-23. Lutheran was paced by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737531' first='Lacey' last='Zumbehl']</strong>, who finished with 17 kills, and <strong>Aubrey Roshek</strong>. Festus placed [player_tooltip player_id='222581' first='Jessie' last='Hawkins'] and <strong>Maggie Geiler </strong>in the all-tournament team, and [player_tooltip player_id='485629' first='Rylee' last='Lawrence'] won MVP.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":698043,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/Festus-Tigers-LSC-Tournament-champs.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-698043" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Coach , Festus Volleyball Twitter </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mid-Buchanan Dragons 18-5-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dragons went into Iowa and came home with a Bedford Tournament title. In the championship match, they redeemed themselves with a 2-1 win over Sidney, IA, which beat MB earlier in the day, 1-2. 2028 <strong>Tatum Moss</strong> and 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='485596' first='Camryn' last='Atha'] leads the team in kills with 12 and 7, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Dominic Crusaders 21-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'll be honest: I did not expect St. Dominic to win the Gateway Tournament, especially taking a loss to Marquette 20-25, 18-25 on day 1. Not only did they win the tournament, but they did it by beating St. Pius X 25-11 and 25-18. <strong>Keeley Skiljan</strong> led the team in the match with nine kills, and [player_tooltip player_id='174406' first='Brytn' last='Lyon'] finished with five aces and 19 assists. In the semifinal, they held off a tough Jackson squad 25-23, 20-25, 25-19, with [player_tooltip player_id='261297' first='Emma' last='Keele'] leading the attack with 11 while <strong>Mackenzie Carff </strong>finished with six blocks. In the finals, the Crusaders would take on Eureka Wildcats, two teams I did not pick to make the finals. St. Dominic won 25-22, 25-27, 25-19 to win the last Gateway Tournament. [player_tooltip player_id='169897' first='Jenna' last='Cubbage'] and [player_tooltip player_id='544677' first='Caroline' last='Tenholder'] led the Wildcats in losing the championship match. St. Dominic had two players finish with double-digit kills. <strong>Keeley Skiljan</strong>, 17, and [player_tooltip player_id='261297' first='Emma' last='Keele'] finished with 14. There have been 15 years of a stacked tournament with some of the best teams in the Metro area year in and year out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":698040,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/St.-Doninic-Gateway-Tournament--crop-1639x1076-1727910532.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-698040" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Athletic Director St. Dominic Volleyball Twitter</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Winona Wildcats 25-1-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three tournaments and three titles. Winona is on fire this season, and I don't see them letting up anytime soon. The Wildcats traveled to Gideon and swept through the tournament, beating Hayti, Risco, Campbell, and Bloomfield in sweeps to make the finals against Clarkton. 2028, <strong>Sadie Kile</strong> and 2026, [player_tooltip player_id='237001' first='Taylor' last='Williams'] put down 11 kills each in the title against Clarkton. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='737677' first='Angel' last='Johnson']</strong> was the bright spot for Clarkton, having nine kills in the loss to Class 1 #1 ranked Winona. Winona would take the victory with a 25-20 and 25-12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Westminster Christian Wildcats 21-5-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westminster is hitting its stride now. It went to Troy and took the Troy Tournament title, having to get by Hannibal to start in 3 before sweeping through the rest of the tournament. The Wildcats coasted in the finals against Liberty with a 25-19, 25-7 win. <strong>Emery Johnston</strong> finished with six kills to lead WCA in the title match, and the team racked up 11 aces. Lyric Hughes and [player_tooltip player_id='493069' first='Myah' last='Derossett'] combined for five blocks, while [player_tooltip player_id='219782' first='Emma' last='Woll'] was the digs leader with 10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jefferson City Jays 15-4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>JC went 10-0 to win the Bolivar Tournament, knocking off Marshfield in the 25-21 and 25-12 championship. [player_tooltip player_id='477951' first='Madilynn' last='Mitchell'] dished out 16 assists and added five kills, while [player_tooltip player_id='477959' first='Aydia' last='Mayotte'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='730130' first='Landrie' last='Vogt']</strong> combined for 35 digs. Jefferson City is on a nine-game-win streak after playing in the Rockwood Tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":698042,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1145-crop-1536x1009-1727911005.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-698042" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Coach Jefferson City Volleyball Page</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Strafford Indians 18-4-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Indians defended home court by winning their tournament, going 2-0-1 in pool play, and then knocking off Glendale in the semifinals. The finals put the Indians up against Spokane. Strafford sent a message to win the 25-16 and 25-13 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->