Class 4 Bottom Bracket Bananza

<p>The first round of the state playoffs kick off this evening so let’s get ahead of it by looking at who advanced and who we think will move on!</p> <p><strong>Pacific vs Jefferson City</strong></p> <p><strong>Pacific</strong> (16-11) needed a five-set thriller, which ended in a 20-18 win over Rolla to get to this match. Erin Brooks delivered with 18 kills, followed by 14 from freshman Caroline Tomlinson. Kamryn Bukowsky ended the night with 42 digs. <strong>Jefferson City</strong> (14-13) didn’t need the stress and was able to get it done in four over Bolivar. </p> <p><em><strong>Prediction: We will take Pacific with the slight edge. </strong></em></p> <p><strong>Logan-Rogersville vs. Webb City</strong></p> <p><strong>Logan-Rogersville</strong> (20-11) is no stranger to the postseason but as the number 2 seed had to beat 3rd seed Marshfield to open district play. They then took down Willard in four behind Brianna Linehan’s 19 kills. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="123463" first="Zoe" last="Reel"] dropped 15 kills of her own. [player_tooltip player_id="152121" first="Lauren" last="Tyler"] moved the ball around for 47 assists. District 12 winner <strong>Webb City</strong> (20-12) topped number one seed Carl Junction in a five-set showcase, after winning the first two sets. Brenda Lawrence and Kearston Galardo both finished with 15 kills. </p> <p><em><strong>Prediction: Logan-Rogersville in a close one. </strong></em></p> <p><strong>Pleasant Hill vs. Pembroke Hill</strong></p> <p>The battle of the hills. Both teams had little trouble getting through their respective districts. <strong>Pleasant Hill</strong> (22-10) made short work of Grandview and Harrisonville. Aby Widhalm paced Pleasant Hill with 13 kills. Senior Molli Johnson had 15 digs. Just like Pleasant, <strong>Pembroke Hill</strong> (15-11) had no issues in district 14 sweeping Center and Lincoln College Prep. The Raiders were led by [player_tooltip player_id="119183" first="Sarah" last="Lattan"]’s 12 kills and [player_tooltip player_id="98678" first="Sydney" last="Draper"]’s 30 assists.</p> <p><em><strong>Prediction: Pembroke being the top Hill in the sectional in four. </strong></em></p> <p><strong>St. Pius X (Kansas City) vs. Smithville</strong></p> <p>This should be a very solid match-up. <strong>St Pius</strong> (25-2) is one of our breakout teams on our radar this year. They were in or around our top 15 teams in KC this fall. The same can be said about Smithville. Pius had no issues with Winnetonka and Kearney in district 15. Lily Holden landed 12 kills in the final. Libero [player_tooltip player_id="150046" first="Claire" last="Mosh"] delivered 18 digs. <strong>Smithville</strong> (26-5)  etched by Savannah in five sets to get to the state playoff round. [player_tooltip player_id="149994" first="Isabella" last="Reynolds"] played big with 20 kills and 6 blocks. Kelsie Gresham was all over the court with 39 digs. </p> <p><em><strong>Prediction: We like Pius in a close and highly charged battle. </strong></em></p>