Class 4, District 1

Host: Poplar Bluff

1. Farmington

2. Poplar Bluff

3. Jackson

4. Cape Central

5. Sikeston

6. Hillsboro

Cannot even remember the last time Greenville was seeded higher than Zalma. I guess this is what happens when no one is held accountable.

Thank ye Legend, but if you knew the School Board then you would know nothing is going to change there either. I will just keep my frustrations bottled up now.

Looks like we have the rest of the seedings for Districts.

CLASS 1 DISTRICT 1

1. Gideon

2. South Pemiscot County

3. Cooter

4. Southland

5. Holcomb

6. North Pemiscot County

7. Delta (Deering)

CLASS 2 DISTRICT 1

1. Malden

2. Twin Rivers

3. Hayti

4. Portageville

5. Senath-Hornersville

6. Caruthersville

CLASS 2 DISTRICT 2

1. Saxony Lutheran

2. Clearwater

3. Woodland

4. Puxico

5. Scott City

6. Charleston

CLASS 2 DISTRICT 3

1. St. Pius X (Festus)

2. Jefferson (Festus)

3. Grandview (Hillsboro)

4. Arcadia Valley

5. West St. Francois County

6. Herculaneum

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I believe I can now make my predictions as to which teams will advance to Sectionals next Saturday.

Class 1 District 1: South Pemiscot County

Class 1 District 2: Bernie

Class 1 District 3: Lesterville

Class 1 District 4: Leopold

Class 2 District 1: Malden

Class 2 District 2: Saxony Lutheran

Class 2 District 3: St. Pius X

Class 2 District 4: St. Elizabeth Academy

Class 3 District 1: Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau)

Class 3 District 2: North St. Francois County

Class 3 District 3: Lutheran South

Class 3 District 4: Miller Career Academy

Class 4 District 1: Jackson

Class 4 District 2: Cor Jesu Academy

Class 4 District 3: Lafayette (Wildwood)

Class 4 District 4: St. Joseph's Academy

Class 1 District 4 is without a doubt the most difficult tournament to predict. It's a unique scenario where you have three equally qualified contenders in the top three seeds, each with their own advantage. Advance has the home-court advantage and has defeated Leopold twice out of three encounters this season, but the one time the Wildcats won was during the championship of the Woodland Tournament. Advance was recently ranked first in the SCAA Conference Tournament and they fell to Bernie. One could argue that the Hornets crack easily under pressure or that the third time may be the charm when they are actually seeded first in a tournament and are not upset. Leopold comes in with a unique advantage as well. For starters, they have dominated Districts and hold their district championship for the past 10 consecutive seasons, and I doubt they will go down easily and will put up one hell of a fight to make this year #11. St. Vincent is the wild card in this situation. The Indians split with Leopold in the Dig for Life Challenge, equally 25-23 both sets if memory serves me correctly, and the Indians played them fairly close last night on Leopold's home court 26-24, 25-19. On a neutral court, it could benefit St. Vincent. Either team will have an uphill climb come Sectionals, as the winner of this district will have to play the winner of District 3 (and host of Sectinals) which, I can say with 99.9% confidence, will be Lesterville.

Class 2 is particularly interesting in that we have the prospects of some potentially new district champions. Class 2 District 1 used to be dominated by Bloomfield, which has dropped to Class 1 this year. Although it is a rather weak district, Malden should carry it. Class 2 District 2 has been traditionally carried by Scott City for the past few seasons, but the Rams are enduring a difficult rebuilding year having lost most of their entire starting lineup from last season's 30-1-1 squad, and the absence of Hogan and Simpson is going to make it an uphill battle for the Rams to defend their title. I'm quite impressed about what I have seen and heard about Saxony Lutheran this season. They've won the Silver Bracket championships of the Dig for Life and Perryville Tournament. If I remember correctly, they've taken numerous tough teams like Perryville three sets. Unfortunately, I don't see any of our local schools in Class 2 being able to compete with St. Pius X, the defending state champions led by powerhouse player Amie Held, who has already committed to playing college volleyball at the University of Northern Iowa.

Class 3 has thrown me through a loop lately. At first I thought Notre Dame had a legitimate chance at advancing to State, but now I just don't know. They're the favorite to win their district, but I expect Perryville can easily pull off an upset and avenge two of their losses to the Bulldogs. The Pirates gave Notre Dame their first loss of the season and I know they would love to give the Bulldogs their last. Dexter, however, having the home court advantage, could make some noise. North County appears to be the prohibitive favorite in Class 3 District 2, although I expect Potosi could pull off an upset from what I've seen and heard coming out of the Mineral Area Conference Tournament. I expect Lutheran South to dominate but I can honestly say that whomever wins out of Notre Dame-Perryville-Dexter has a great chance at going to State.

As is always the case, I don't think any of our local teams in Class 4 can compete with the traditional powerhouses of the St. Louis private schools. St. Joseph's Academy, Cor Jesu Academy, Ursuline Academy, all of those academies. I do expect there to be some upsets in the Southeast Missouri district, and right now I am going to say that Jackson will win this district. Sure, Poplar Bluff has the home court advantage, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Indians will prevail.

Thoughts?

Farmington got beat by Notre Dame 25-12 and 25-23 this weekend at Festus. Thank You.

Farmington lost in 3 to PHC earlier in the year.

VolleyballdogFan01

Just for clarification . . . I have not made a post under this thread.

One has to wonder if Valle Catholic would have a better shot to win a state title if it lost a game before the postseason started.