District Preview: Class 5 Districts 5-8

<!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 5 (Seeds):</strong></h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grain Valley, Rock Bridge, Waynesville, Hickman, Battle, Smith-Cotton, Blue Springs South, Rolla</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top-seeded Grain Valley enters the postseason riding an eight-match winning streak and owns victories over three other teams in this district. Their only losses came against quality opponents like Blue Valley West and Lee's Summit North. Offensively, they're paced by [player_tooltip player_id='707417' first='Kyleigh' last='Casey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='831096' first='Chesnie' last='King'], who also serves as one of two setters with 300+ assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rock Bridge, the No. 2 seed, fell to Grain Valley in three sets about a month ago. Like the Eagles, they've tested themselves against tough competition and come in battle-ready at 20–17. [player_tooltip player_id='807139' first='Reese' last='Ihler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='237014' first='Maeve' last='Rush'] lead the charge at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waynesville holds the No. 3 seed with 18 wins this season, while Hickman has beaten Battle twice, and Smith-Cotton owns a win over Hickman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Expect a Grain Valley vs. Rock Bridge final, with the top seed taking the district title. That said, don't overlook Blue Springs South. Despite just six wins and a 10-match losing streak, their grueling schedule could set them up for a surprise run. They pushed Grain Valley to four sets earlier this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 6 (Seeds):</strong></h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ozark, Nixa, Republic, Kickapoo, Branson, Carthage, Glendale, Joplin, Neosho</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joplin and Neosho open district play, with the winner earning a shot at top-seeded Ozark. The 30-win Tigers look like the favorites on paper, though Nixa recently took them down in a five-set thriller.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ozark started the season with 28 straight wins, led by [player_tooltip player_id='219778' first='Tara' last='Venable'] on offense and standout freshman setter Lucy Roark. Nixa, one of only two teams to beat Ozark, got 20 kills from [player_tooltip player_id='805621' first='Gwen' last='Kubik'] and 19 from [player_tooltip player_id='839111' first='Taylor' last='Wood'] in that upset. Winners of eight straight, they enter with a 24–9 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Republic (17–10) has also won eight straight, including victories over Kickapoo, Carthage, and Glendale, while Kickapoo notched quality wins this year, including one over Lee's Summit West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Expect another Ozark vs. Nixa showdown for the district title, another potential five-set classic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 7 (Seeds):</strong></h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lee's Summit West, Lee's Summit North, Raymore-Peculiar, Blue Springs, Fort Osage, Lee's Summit, William Chrisman, Truman, Ruskin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Truman and Ruskin open play, with the winner facing top-seeded Lee's Summit West. West should cruise to the championship match behind [player_tooltip player_id='446328' first='Tori' last='Massengill'], who's nearing 300 kills, and [player_tooltip player_id='729510' first='Andi' last='Gardner'], a defensive anchor who transferred from Truman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The intrigue comes on October 25th. Lee's Summit North has been one of the best stories in Missouri this season, finally healthy and firing on all cylinders. Veterans [player_tooltip player_id='357615' first='Piper' last='Bahr'], [player_tooltip player_id='485632' first='Leighton' last='Benne'], and Madison Benne have helped lead the charge. North split the season series with West, winning the most recent meeting in a sweep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Raymore-Peculiar sits at No. 3 and has played both North and West tough, splitting two close five-setters to North and dropping two matches to West. They've won nine of their last ten, led defensively by [player_tooltip player_id='809352' first='Amber' last='Fellhauer'] (4.4 digs per set).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dark horse: Blue Springs, despite a modest record, owns an early-season win over West and just took Ray-Pec to five sets. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='543378' first='Olivia' last='Maciel'] has been a bright spot for the Wildcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Expect fireworks between Lee's Summit North and Lee's Summit West in the title match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 8 (Seeds):</strong></h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Park Hill South, Park Hill, Liberty North, Staley, Liberty, Platte County, Oak Park, St. Joe Central, North Kansas City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central and North Kansas City will meet again to open play after facing off just last week, a match North Kansas City won.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If the bracket holds, the championship could be an instant classic. The top two seeds, Park Hill South and Park Hill, split their season series, with South taking the most recent matchup dominantly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When South is clicking, they're a tough out. [player_tooltip player_id='838860' first='Sydni' last='Lafasciano'] leads the team in scoring and provides strong back-row defense, while [player_tooltip player_id='357573' first='Vada' last='Brattin'] has emerged as a reliable second option. Their only district loss came to Park Hill earlier in the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Park Hill counters with power from the outside in [player_tooltip player_id='490206' first='Ava' last='Daneff'] and [player_tooltip player_id='666872' first='Payton' last='Osegueda'], but the difference-maker in a potential rematch could be in the middle, [player_tooltip player_id='222074' first='Parker' last='Kimball'] and [player_tooltip player_id='778363' first='Nikyah' last='Chappell'] are capable of swinging momentum.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty North has won five straight, including a sweep of Lee's Summit North, led by [player_tooltip player_id='583726' first='Addison' last='Webb'], who paces the team in kills per set. Meanwhile, Platte County makes its return to Class 5 after deep postseason runs in Class 4 in recent years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Park Hill South vs. Park Hill III could be one of the best district finals in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->