2025 HS Preview: Victory Christian and Lincoln Christian

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>School season is right around the corner and we are taking a look at 2 teams per article. We will talk about who they graduated, key returners, and predict the outcome of the upcoming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You have until June 5th to use (Sooner50) to receive 50% off. That is a HUGE savings if you use that on the two year subscription. Now is the perfect time too. You would get the FULL school and club season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Victory Christian:</strong><strong> </strong>They went 28-3 last season. They didn't lose their first match till mid september in a tournament to the eventual other 4A semifinalist, Cascia Hall. The only other two losses were to Cascia at their place in a 5 set thriller and in the state semis against Community Christian. They are graduating a solid senior in Alayna Wolfe. She was a swiss army knife player. She was a libero for part of the season but also became a six rotation outside hitter as well. She was a key player that flew under the radar but was a huge part of their success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players:</strong> They are returning a LOAD of talent this season and they have their eyes on getting back to winning titles like they did when they won 5 straight from 17'-21'. They will return ORU commit, [player_tooltip player_id='297123' first='Ana' last='Appel']. She will direct a potent offense and likely hit in the front row again. She may be an elite setter but she is also a solid hitter. Players like [player_tooltip player_id='750107' first='Naomi' last='Ross'] and [player_tooltip player_id='301378' first='Lanee' last='Heflin'] make for an elite level passing and digging game. One is ranked #2 DS in the class of 2026 and the other is ranked #1 in the 2028 class. They have a plethora of young hitters to choose from who are talented. Players like [player_tooltip player_id='740825' first='Jade' last='Hurley'], [player_tooltip player_id='734744' first='Sophia' last='Carollo'], [player_tooltip player_id='773586' first='Simi' last='Adeyemi'] and [player_tooltip player_id='740640' first='Kenzie' last='Benningfield']. If the rumors of a couple legit hitters transferring over are true, they will be in my top 3 choices to win the 4A title. <strong>Prediction:</strong> With the sheer amount of talent this group has, they make it to state again but this time they make it all the way to the championship match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lincoln Christian:</strong> They went 24-14 last season en route to a regional championship and a trip to the state quarterfinals. They graduated multiple standout seniors, one of which who signed to play at McPherson College, [player_tooltip player_id='297070' first='Olivia' last='Tucker']. As always top tier coach, Deirdra Rader, will not rebuild but continue to reload. She has posted a solid 275 wins in her career. Rader, the 2024 All State Coach, and company haven't missed the playoffs in AT LEAST the past six seasons regardless of the classification. In those six, they were the state champs in 2019, 2020, and 2022. They almost assuredly would have had the 4 peat if Victory Christian wasn't moved down in 2021 despite winning the 5A state championship the season before. This program is proud of how resilient they are. They have focused on tough drill design and regular season match schedule to help purposely build this characteristic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players:</strong> The talent is plentiful as always for Bulldog nation. They have a solid senior class with players like setter [player_tooltip player_id='288994' first='Karlie' last='Jones'], middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='288990' first='Jada' last='Faulkner'], defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='778493' first='Maleah' last='Levell'], and outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='740706' first='Anabel' last='Nelson']. They have multiple other hitters ready to step up like [player_tooltip player_id='766939' first='Harlow' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='288989' first='Wylie' last='Bales'] and Niya Willoby. This team clearly has the front row options to compete at a very high level. Based on past years track record they will have the depth and mentality to get the job done. The question will be their backrow play but they have always had a solid player in their libero jersey as far back as I can remember. Our very own scout, Abby Cunningham, was an All State selection her senior year for Lincoln Christian as a DS.<strong> Prediction:</strong> The Bulldogs make it 7 straight trips to the state tournament, avenge their first round loss from 2024 and make it to the semi finals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->