Class 5 early season rankings.

<p>Class 5 has a lot of newcomers and should shake things up a bit this year. One thing that hasn’t changed is Lafayette and it’s dominance. Until it’s knocked off the state level, I can’t see not giving them the top rank at this point. We have a couple of other teams that might have something to say about this ranking.  The common denominator about several of these teams is you’ll see they are all going to the Ozark Grand Slam at the end of October.</p> <p>1. <strong>Lafayette 4-0</strong></p> <p>The Lancers know how to win, and they just got pushed to the brink of defeat last night by St. Dominic and won.  Battling back from being down 0-2 and winning 15-12 in the 5^th let me know they will be a hand full come playoffs. With Eureka and defending Class 3 private Borgia in the same district, this should be an interesting one to watch. Morgan Isenberg, [player_tooltip player_id="101699" first="Jordyn" last="Lochmann"], Jenny Nguyen, Caitlyn Little, and [player_tooltip player_id="102553" first="Layne" last="Witherspoon"] have just started the season but look sharp.  Play in the Ozark tourney at the end of the month. </p> <p>2.<strong> St. Dominic 14-2-1</strong></p> <p>Audrey Weber and Breanna Schreimann are smoking hot on the outside and are very hard to stop. The role players are doing their part to keep things moving along. With the 2-3 loss to Lafayette solidifies, this team is legit Class 5 title hunter. [player_tooltip player_id="102453" first="Rachel" last="Schipper"] keeps the offense clicking be on the lookout for the Crusaders playing in November. The only losses are to Lafayette and Willard and have handed Borgia both their losses on the season.</p> <p>3. <strong>Liberty North 9-0</strong></p> <p>Eagles have a hot start to the season thanks to [player_tooltip player_id="41825" first="Isabel" last="Zimmerman"] and Carlie Cisneros, [player_tooltip player_id="41799" first="Addison" last="Beagle"], and Rylee Staatz. With big wins over Liberty, St. Teresa’s Academy, and Lee’s Summit West, I see unique things this year if they can get by Liberty in districts.</p> <p>4. <strong>St. Francis Borgia 13-2-2</strong></p> <p>Class 3 defending champs move up to Class 5 then get put into Lafayette’s district.  Talk about a thank you from MSHSAA on that. The only losses on the year are to St. Dominic and split with Hermann #1 in Class 3 and Willard #1 in Class 4. Watch for battles with Lafayette October 13^th, October 15^th Helias, and 19^th with Hermann.  [player_tooltip player_id="41802" first="Ella" last="Brinkman"]n’s 208 kills, Caroline Glastetter’s 152 kills, and [player_tooltip player_id="41798" first="Annie" last="Arand"]’s 367 assists, the Knights could be in for a long October if the defense and passing are still struggling as they did against St. Dominic. Play at the Ozark tourney at the end of the month. </p> <p>5.<strong> Helias 15-1-1</strong></p> <p>Chapel Dobbs has come on in her sophomore year to lead the Crusaders with 131 kills.  With only a 1-2 loss to Willard, at this point, moves them below Borgia.  October 10^th date with Hermann and 15^th date with Borgia will be intriguing matchups to see where Helias ranks.</p> <p>6. <strong>Nixa 9-2</strong></p> <p>Surviving a 3-2 win over Ozark and taking a 0-3 loss to Willard has moved Nixa down a few spots. I still think Nixa is the team to beat in Class 5 out of the SWMO area, but they are in a district with Ozark and Kickapoo, which isn’t easy.  With [player_tooltip player_id="102546" first="Jaycee" last="Fixsen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="41762" first="Taylor" last="Golmen"] leading the attack and setter [player_tooltip player_id="102444" first="Sydney" last="Golden"] dishing, the sets don’t count out the defending Class 4 champions. Playing at the Ozark tourney at the end of the season. </p> <p>7. <strong>Rock Bridge 11-1-1</strong></p> <p>With a win over Hermann, Ozark, Pleasant Hill, I’m going with the Bruins here. The only loss was to Hermann. Guided by sophomores 6’3 setter [player_tooltip player_id="101566" first="Ella" last="Swindle"] and hitter Lily Dudley the future looks bright at Rock Bridge.  Match up with Helias on October 1^st awaits and give us a better indication of what the Bruins have. </p> <p>8. <strong>St. Teresa’s Academy 5-4</strong></p> <p>The Star’s haven’t played much, but the competition is next to none when they have.  Skutt Catholic, NE, the number 1 team in the country, St. Thomas Aquinas, KS, Liberty North, Lee’s Summit West, have all be defeats. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="101677" first="Maggie" last="McInerney"], [player_tooltip player_id="101686" first="Kelly" last="Ann Greene"], and Lauren Halverson are the team’s kill leaders at this point in the season. Also in the Ozark tourney at the end of October.</p> <p>9. <strong>Park Hill 11-4</strong></p> <p>I didn’t know what to think of the Trojans until they went and beat Lee’s Summit West 3-2.  From the highlights, [player_tooltip player_id="41748" first="Kristen" last="Birmingham"] 22 kills, Aisha Aiono 15 kills, and Shaye Koski 11 kills had a heck of a match. Intriguing matchups with Liberty North, Liberty, Blue Springs, and a rematch with Lee’s Summit West this month. </p> <p>10. <strong>Liberty 6-3</strong></p> <p>St. Teresa’s Academy, Liberty North, and Lee’s Summit West have knocked off the Bluejays this season. October 10^th versus Park Hill, then rematch with Liberty North, and the 22^nd with Lee’s Summit West will see where Liberty stands at the end of the season.  The Ozark tourney also awaits the Bluejays.  [player_tooltip player_id="41808" first="Madison" last="Corf"] 125 kills, [player_tooltip player_id="41749" first="Bailee" last="Middleton"] 85 kills, and [player_tooltip player_id="99215" first="Brooklyn" last="Young"] 77 kills are the season leaders. With only nine matches played, it’s still early in the season. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>