2A and 3A Semifinals Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tonight we have the 2A and 3A state finals at McClintock and Mountain Pointe HS respectively. First matches start at 5pm and the second will follow after and is listed as a 7pm start time. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both these divisions have their top 4 seeds in the semi finals, as there hasn't been much drama with these divisions as all the top 4 seeds have advanced to this point. However, we do see some drama coming with these matches as these are clearly the best 4 teams left, and should give us some great volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals 2A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#1 Scottsdale Christian vs #4 Trivium Prep (5pm @ McClintock)&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you want a program that demonstrates a level of consistency, I give you Trivium Prep. Head Coach Beth Wilson has led Trivium Prep to 8 straight semifinal appearances including this year. Her team always follows a model of consistent high level performances each and every match and this year is no different. Leading the way for the Knights is region defensive player of the year Meili Maurice and the region offensive player of the year in [player_tooltip player_id='882705' first='Petra' last='Zepeda']. These two have been a strong tandem for the Knights on both offense and defense for them. Petra is 6th in 2A in kills while hitting over .337 as well. She is a very efficient weapon for the Knights and always seems to find the open court. On defense Meili 3rd in the conference in digs and seems to cover a ton of ground for the Knights. She also does well commanding serve receiving and taking the seams to keep Trivium in system. Scottsdale Christian will counter with their own offensive weapons in [player_tooltip player_id='806073' first='Kaya' last='Olafson'] who is 5th in the conference for kills and has been unstoppable most of the year averaging over 4 kills a set and terminating the ball at a 44% rate. She is able to hit at such a high rate because of the stellar play of setter [player_tooltip player_id='882728' first='Megan' last='Davidson'], who is 4th in the conference in assists. She is able to put the ball where she wants at will, and is always able to keep the defense guessing with her sets being exactly where they need to be. Overall Scottsdale Christian is the number 1 overall seed for a reason, and we don't see that changing today. Trivium will need some other players to step up to really make this a game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: SCA 3 Trivium Prep 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#2 NVCA vs #3 PCDS (7pm @ McClintock)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the 3rd match up between these two teams this season. Both meetings prior happened in tournament play with NVCA taking both match ups when they played. NVCA took a big leap forward this season, and a lot of that can be attributed to Oregon transfer [player_tooltip player_id='201903' first='Madison' last='Sherby']. Getting a transfer that turned into the region player of the year has been a real impact for NVCA. They also have been great production from other offensive starters in [player_tooltip player_id='832197' first='Gabby' last='Rice'] and [player_tooltip player_id='806217' first='Kylee' last='Wick']. They form a 3 headed monster for NVCA that gets them production from multiple spots on the floor. PCDS will have their hands full trying to slow down 1-2 of these girls.&nbsp;PCDS does have some stellar players coming into this match up. One match up we are looking forward to is the play between Madison and PCDS's [player_tooltip player_id='826562' first='Jodie' last='Jones']. Jodie is one of the best blockers and physical presence at the net. If there is one girl who can slow down Madison it would be Jodie, and we are looking forward to seeing these two go at it. Jodie is also a force on offense for the Eagles and will be hitting from all locations on the floor. PCDS will also get contributions from freshman [player_tooltip player_id='888770' first='Emery' last='Ossenfort'] on the offensive end and&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='791845' first='Asia' last='Harper'] on the defensive end. These two are big parts of the offensive and defensive system for PCDS, and will need to be on point to slow down the NVCA attack.&nbsp;This match is for sure going the distance, and how do you pick between these two? PCDS is the defending champions but NVCA has won both match ups and is ranked higher. At the end of the day having the mentality that you can beat someone does carry a lot of weight, we are excited to be at and watching this match!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: NVCA 3 PCDS 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals 3A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#1 Valley Christian vs #4 Gilbert Christian (5pm @ Mountain Pointe)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have a rematch of a regular season match up here. In the 1st match we had a 5 set thriller that saw Valley Christian get down 0-2 and then reverse sweep their way to victory. Valley Christian has been firing on all cylinders since their match up. Valley Christian has not dropped a set in powerpoint matches since their match up with Gilbert Christian. Leading the charge is middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='784641' first='Sadie' last='Wahlin'] who is hitting .576 on the season, which is #1 in all of Arizona. She also leads 3A in blocks which shows how versatile she is on offense and defense. She is very tough to stop and Gilbert Christian will have a tough time slowing her down. Also for Valley Christian you have [player_tooltip player_id='807441' first='Sydney' last='Simon'] who leads all of 3A in kills and <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/az/chandler/valley-christian-trojans/athletes/ansley-venkatesh/?careerid=l6r0hf0mdct66">[player_tooltip player_id='887201' first='Ansley' last='Venkatesh']</a> who leads all of 3A in assists. The fact that Valley Chrsitian has almost every major statistical category as one of their own girls shows how deep and talented they are. This makes it challenging for Gilbert Christian but they don't lack in the star power department. Leading the charge for them are [player_tooltip player_id='552844' first='Sienna' last='Cathey'], [player_tooltip player_id='889790' first='Lillie' last='Duitsman'], and [player_tooltip player_id='810576' first='Alexia' last='Heyn']. These 3 have been leading the way for the Knights all season and are averaging a combined 9 kills a set between the 3 of them. They form a dangerous trio who are all capable of taking over at any point. Sienna and Lillie are both 4 and 5 in the conference in total kills so they should be able to match the offensive output with ease. This match up will come down to who can stay in system the longest and be the most efficient. Valley Christian hasn't lost to a 3A team all season and we don't see that changing tonight.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: Valley Christian 3 Gilbert Christian 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#2 Northwest Christian vs #3 Snowflake (7pm @ Mountain Pointe)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two did not meet during the regular season but are notorious members of making the state finals or a final 4 run. These two have been consistently some of the best 3A schools for many years. This year is no different as Snowflake hasn't missed a beat under new head coach Alicia LaDuke. Snowflake has a very balanced offense and has 4 girls averaging over 1.7 kills a set. They do a really good job distributing the offense and not letting you camp out on one hitter. It makes them very dangerous as they can get their offense from everywhere. The same can be said with their defense as well, they get contributions from everywhere with 4 girls having over 200 digs. They are 8 deep across the board and with 6 seniors leading the charge, they have a lot of experience heading into this match which could pay dividends tonight. On the other hand Northwest Christian has two seniors of their own leading the charge for them in [player_tooltip player_id='874847' first='Tatum' last='Naber'] and [player_tooltip player_id='822954' first='Cadence' last='Roberts']. These are some of the top offensive players in 3A with Cadence 11th in kills and Tatum being 6th in assists. Look for these two to lead the charge for Northwest in this match up. They do have some depth as well, as freshman sensation [player_tooltip player_id='883019' first='Izabella' last='Bombinski'] is averaging over 3 kills a set and hitting over .300 as well. The stage hasn't been too bright for her as a freshman and the team uses her in every aspect of the game. The fact that Northwest has two game changing pins in Izabella and Cadence give them the edge in this match up. Although we see it being close throughout, in the playoffs stars tend to shine and Northwest has two of them on the pins.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: Northwest Christian 3 Snowflake 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->