Class 2 Final Four Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 2 is set to get going Friday with the final four teams in the state ready to go to battle If you haven't read the other previews or asking yourselves, why are there so many previews for each class? Missouri has two writers with two different perspectives and styles, so you're the lucky ones. Here is what's in play in Class 2. Three of the four teams are back from last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Vincent (22-8-5) vs. Bishop LeBlond (31-3-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This should be an interesting match when they face off on Friday evening. St. Vincent has a strong front-line presence and they send back a ton of balls. On the other hand, Bishop LeBlond has proved to give teams headaches behind the service line. Both squads will rely on their top-scoring threats as they put up similar numbers this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For LeBlond, [player_tooltip player_id='232218' first='Rilyn' last='Conard'] has tallied 386 kills while her counterpart across the net, [player_tooltip player_id='225325' first='Kate' last='Rubel'] has 336. The St. Joseph Missouri team, LeBlond is 9-1 in neutral court matches this season. If St. Vincent can slow down Conard, the question becomes who will step up for the Eagles? Will it be Ella Frazee or [player_tooltip player_id='735227' first='Katie' last='Sego']? The same can be said for the Indians. Rubel carries much of the scoring on her shoulders so they will need a big showing from players like Alaina Cates and Brigid Sauer. Both teams are on lengthy winning streaks, 9 for St. Vincent and 10 for LeBlond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop LeBlond has made the final four in this class two out of the last four years. They have played a competitive schedule being in Northwest Missouri this fall. My prediction is they will advance to the final match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hermann (20-15) vs. Fair Grove (39-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year's semifinal was last year's state championship game. In a great contest, Fair Grove defeated Hermann in a five-set thriller. We should expect another intense match. Fair Grove enters 39-0 and is the defending state champion. They've gone extra sets four times this year. On the other side of the court, Hermann has been up and down this season but won games when they mattered down the stretch. To their credit, they scheduled or played in tournaments with many teams above their class. Statistically, Hermann has been effective behind the service line, totaling 270 aces. Fair Grove scores often and has over 1400 kills as a unit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Fair Grove, [player_tooltip player_id='349621' first='Brooke' last='Daniels'] runs the show well as she has racked up over 1100 assists on the year. [player_tooltip player_id='493046' first='Shea' last='Skouby'] is the primary beneficiary of those balls with 365 kills. She is joined by two other players with over 200 kills, [player_tooltip player_id='735242' first='Sofee' last='Garrett'] and [player_tooltip player_id='737639' first='Abbey' last='Green']. They are a solid team defensively with just under 2200 digs as a team. Hermann on paper has an uphill challenge but they have [player_tooltip player_id='493045' first='Sydney' last='Schulte'] on their side. The senior averages over 3 kills per set and has 316 on the year. She will need her Robin, [player_tooltip player_id='702778' first='Ashlyn' last='Hughes'] to come up big to trade blows with Grove. If they can get some momentum behind the serve and keep their opponents out of system, they can play defense and attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fair Grove is on a mission. They want the repeat. They get one step closer with a win in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->