Mo-Kan Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top tournaments in the Kansas City area came and went, and once again it lived up to the hype. The tournament annually brings together some of the best teams from both sides of the state line, making it one of those events where you can learn a lot simply by watching teams go head-to-head.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While I don't cover Kansas these days, I'd be remiss not to mention some of what I saw on Saturday. There was plenty to take away—not just from the results, but from how some of these teams looked against quality competition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lee's Summit North emerged as the tournament champion after taking down St. Thomas Aquinas in three sets. The Broncos used a balanced offensive attack, with four players recording at least six kills in the championship match, led by [player_tooltip player_id='886202' first='Nylah' last='Rinard']'s eight. [player_tooltip player_id='485632' first='Leighton' last='Benne'] also had an impressive day running the offense, finishing the championship match with 28 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oak Grove and Maize South rounded out the semifinal field, giving the tournament four teams with plenty of postseason potential.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Additional Takeaways</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oak Grove Is the Favorite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I left the tournament believing Oak Grove is the favorite to win Class 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I don't want to put that pressure on them, but after seeing this team live and considering what they return from a year ago, I think they are a dangerous group. They did take a loss to Blue Springs South, which was a battle, but then turned around and knocked off what I still believe was the best team in the gym in Blue Valley West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That got my attention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='556998' first='Paisley' last='Hudson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='557372' first='Piper' last='Hudson'] get plenty of deserved attention, but the player who stood out to me the most right now is setter [player_tooltip player_id='883474' first='Emmy' last='Brown']. She runs this offense extremely well. Brown operates the 5-1 and, while she can be a liability at times defensively at the net, the way she controls tempo and consistently puts her hitters in position makes that trade-off worth it for this team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest thing with Oak Grove is that they don't feel dependent on one player to make something happen. They have multiple offensive options, and Brown does a good job keeping those options involved. When the offense is in rhythm, this is a team that can put a lot of pressure on an opponent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blue Valley West Is Dangerous</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yes, Blue Valley West took one on the chin in three sets against Oak Grove. And yes, [player_tooltip player_id='557372' first='Piper' last='Hudson'] played lights out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But don't let that result overshadow what I saw from Blue Valley West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The weapons on this team make them a legitimate contender in the top class in Kansas when the dust settles. They're still adjusting to [player_tooltip player_id='480396' first='Peyton' last='Kubik'] returning to the lineup, and that will be something to watch as they continue to build chemistry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='807962' first='Jensen' last='Kubik'] continues to show her ability to use her entire offensive toolkit, while the duo of setters [player_tooltip player_id='446324' first='Sasha' last='Cromer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='518345' first='Nyah' last='Harris'] might be two of the better setters in the state of Kansas. And they're on the same team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='829274' first='Aliyah' last='Harris'] also showed that she can be effective all over the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's what makes this team so difficult to defend. You simply don't know where the attack is coming from. They have options along the front row and can utilize the pipe attack in the back row. There are very few rotations where an opponent can afford to relax.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They're a fun team to watch, and I wouldn't put too much stock in one three-set loss. There's too much fire[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blue Springs South: Watch Them Late</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blue Springs South has hovered around the .500 mark this season, but I think they're going to be a tough team to deal with once district play arrives.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest thing for me is passing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If they can improve their first contact and continue developing a consistent offensive rhythm in-system, I think this team can play with a lot of the better teams in the area. Right now, they are forced to take too many swings out of system or settle for safe sets to the back row.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw enough from [player_tooltip player_id='694190' first='Avery' last='Henson'] and Ella Pearson, though, to know there are players here who can score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Henson gives them a legitimate front-row and back-row scoring option, which is valuable when a team is trying to stretch a defense. Pearson can beat you with [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''], but she also showed the ability to work around the block, tool a defender, or take something off the ball with an off-speed shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If the passing catches up to the offensive talent, Blue Springs South could be a very different team late in the season than the one we've seen early on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Lee's Summits</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm happy these two are going to be in different district tournaments again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It would be a shame for one of them not to advance deeper into the postseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you've been following the [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] 8, you know Lee's Summit North and Lee's Summit West have been the only two teams to occupy the top spot this season. The Broncos won the first battle Saturday, took over the No. 1 spot, and I said at the time that the stay at the top could be short-lived because the two teams were scheduled to meet Monday again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lee's Summit West won the rematch in four sets, and the Titans did it with an offense that was extremely difficult to slow down. They finished with 62 kills, with four players recording at least 10. [player_tooltip player_id='815662' first='Lauren' last='Newbold'] led the way with 16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's what makes this rivalry so much fun to follow. Neither team has been able to separate itself for long, and just when you think you've figured out the pecking order, the other team answers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Titans may also have the tougher schedule down the stretch, including another tournament on the horizon featuring St. Dominic. That could give us another opportunity to see just how this team stacks up as the postseason approaches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And that's probably the biggest takeaway from this whole stretch: we may not know who the best team in the KC Metro is yet—and that's a good thing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The battles between Lee's Summit North and Lee's Summit West, the continued rise of Oak Grove, and the strength of teams like Blue Valley West and Blue Springs South should make the next few weeks a lot of fun to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->