Class 1 District 5 Roundup and Top Performers
Class 1 District 5 had to of been the most competitive of all the Class 1 districts. The top 4 seeds came in with 20+ wins on the year and all four from the same conference. The #1 South Iron…
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Continue ReadingClass 1 District 5 had to of been the most competitive of all the Class 1 districts. The top 4 seeds came in with 20+ wins on the year and all four from the same conference. The #1 South Iron Panthers escaped with a 25-22, 25-19, 28-26 sweep of the #4 seed Bunker Eagles. Semifinal #2 pitted the 2nd seed Lesterville Bearcats up against the #3 Ellington Whippets, and again the action was packed, and the Bearcats took the 3-0 win 28-26, 25-17, 25-22. On Tuesday evening, the championship had the #1 Panthers and the #2 Bearcats in front of a packed house. Lesterville would come out on fire and take the 25-18, 25-19 to go up 2-0 and need only one more to win their sixth consecutive district championship. In the third set, South Iron passing finally hit its stride and won the 3rd set 25-17 by feeding the middles. The 4th set was a back and forth affair, with neither team taking more than a 3 point lead. Each team would trade-off with a set point, and the game would go extra points, with South Iron getting the final point to take set 4 29-27. South Iron came out on a mission and took a commanding lead at 7-2, and Lesterville tried to play catch up the rest of the way. The Panthers finally got the last kill to win its first district title since 2004 with an 18-25, 19-25, 25-17, 29-27, 15-10 win.
Top Performances
Abbi Harper (2022) | Ellington
The long arms and powerful swing would cause fits for Lesterville in the semifinals. Unfortunately, Ellington doesn’t provide stats, so her final numbers are unknown, but she had to rack up close to 20 kills in the semifinal loss.
Gretchen Hackworth (2022) | Ellington
Another senior for the Whippets that did damage in the semifinal loss was the setter/hitter Hackworth. When not feeding the ball to her big hitter outside, Hackworth was racking up plenty of kills with her powerful swings.
Kaitlyn Belk (2023) | Bunker
Belk has been mentioned before, but this was my first time getting to see her in person. The 5’11 outside would hit the ball high off the block or simply through it. A potent hitter wants to flatten the ball each time she gets the opportunity, and I can only think of it a few times when it was blocked. She ended a successful junior season with over 418 kills, and no district stats were available at publication.
Emily Strange (2024) | Bunker
Next year another player that will return for the Eagles is a 5’9 sophomore that would give the Panthers a few fits in the semifinals. With her solid blocking and smart hitting out of the middle, she would help her Eagles push South Iron to extra points in the third set.
Reese Gray Reese Gray 5'8" | OH Lesterville | 2023 State MO (2023) | Lesterville
In three district games, the powerful outside hitter for the Bearcats would finish with 87 kills and hit .416. With the 5 set loss to South Iron, Gray would put down 43 kills and 30 digs.
Piper Fitzgerald (2023) | Lesterville
The 5’6 outside hitter for Lesterville had started the first two years as a middle. With the move to the outside this season, her kill total has skyrocketed and ended with 313 and 368 digs. She has one nasty jump float serve that gives her team an edge to start the games.
Grace Hicks Grace Hicks 5'5" | S Lesterville | 2023 State MO (2023) | Lesterville
Hicks passed the 2000 assists this year in only her second year as the starting setter. A pinpoint setter gives her hitters an edge with her shoots to the outside or moves hitters around to give them a solo block.
Megan Lashley (2022) | South Iron
Lashley gave Lesterville trouble by hitting the ball high off the hands and out to help the Panthers win the district title. Her biggest impact of the game was getting her passing going in the third set so her setters could take advantage of the middle.
Maddie Ayers (2023) | South Iron
The 5’7 outside hitter was a key component for her team to finally get together in the finals to pull out a 5 set win. A major force on the outside with her ability to terminate out of system plays.
Drew Gayle (2023) | South Iron
You often do not see a middle hitter also helping run the 6-2 offense, but Gayle does a solid job at each position. In the finals, she would put down 21 kills and 20 digs. Gayle was a big reason the Panthers took the championship once she was given the ball in the middle.