Kansas 1A D1 State Championship Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The small schools are ready to rumble! They will get going Friday in Dodge City, KS.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The top seed will be 37-2 Rosalia-Flinthills</strong>. They are on a 32-match winning streak since September 1st. They lost twice that week and couldn't tell you what a loss has looked like since. Middle <strong>Harlee Randall</strong> is doing work offensively with over four kills per set. Setter <strong>Karly Girty</strong> is leading the team in assists, digs, and service aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sylvan-Lucas matches the 37-2 </strong>record and will be seeded second. They own their own double-digit winning streak with 23. <strong>Keeli Knobbe</strong> is doing damage with 382 kills on the season and a .374 hitting percentage. <strong>Emma Cline</strong> has shined defensively grabbing five digs per set. The tandem of <strong>Sophie Pancost</strong> and <strong>Maggie Labertew</strong> have done a good job of running the offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Pretty Prairie Bulldogs earned the third seed and enter with a 36-4 </strong>showing. They dropped their second match of the year before running off twelve in a row. <strong>Trinity Kruse</strong> leads the team with 340 digs. <strong>Joley Harbaugh </strong>will work to get the ball to <strong>Bailey Young</strong> and her 395 kills as often as she can. They came up a win short of a state title and hope to avenge that loss this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Little River</strong> joins Pretty Prairie on their return trip to the United Wireless Center after qualifying a year ago. <strong>At 35-4,</strong> Their last defeat was to 2A qualifier Inman. This team features a couple of players capable of finding the floor with swings in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119732' first='Alaina' last='Eck']</strong> and <strong>Aubrey Olander</strong>. They also run a two-setter system with <strong>Chenzi Debaere</strong> and <strong>Kate Elwood</strong> both tallying over 300 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The fifth seed of the championship pool play will be Spearville, the defending state champion</strong>. 32-4 on the season, the Lancers are winners of five straight. <strong>Taylen Stout</strong> was a standout last year and delivered this year as well. They will attempt to go back-to-back from the top pool. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>34-5 Highland-Doniphan West </strong>joins the field in 2022 after a strong fall campaign. They started their year with an 11-game winning streak then come back and have a longer one later in 14 games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='550867' first='Katie' last='Johnson'] </strong>and <strong>Avery Weathersbee</strong> lead a balanced offensive attack. <strong>Kyra Johnson</strong> leads the team in both assists and digs from the right side of the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seventh seed St. Francis has a 29-9</strong> record in 2022 entering the championship rounds. They picked up most of their defeats in October but won the matches that matter to get to Dodge City. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='120020' first='Ellee' last='Krien']</strong> has been great defensively from the back row, evidenced by her 507 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Our final team in the big dance will be Olpe</strong>. They sport a 24-15 record and will be the only team in the field with double-digit losses on the year. The Eagles are led by <strong>Grace Coughlin's</strong> 167 kills. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pools</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rosalia-Flinthills, Little River, Spearville, Olpe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sylvan-Lucas, Pretty Prairie, Highland-Doniphan West, St. Francis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Predictions </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rosalia-Flinthills and Spearville advance</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sylvan-Lucas and Pretty Prairie Advance</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semi-Finals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spearville over Sylvan-Lucas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pretty Prairie over Rosalia-Flinthills</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>State Champion</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pretty Prairie bounces back from the sour taste of 2021 to win a state title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->