Play Continues at the 2021 MSHSAA State Volleyball Championships Friday

By Jim Powers

The Missouri State High School Activities Association State Volleyball Championships continue Friday as Classes One and Two converge on the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau to begin their quest for a state title. Three state champions will be crowned as Class Three through Five will start the day with their title matches.

Action begins at 10 a.m. Friday with Logan-Rogersville taking on Westminster Christian Academy in the Class Four Championship match. At noon, the Class Five title is up for grabs as Lee’s Summit West plays Cor Jesu Academy while at 4 p.m., Blair Oaks and Strafford battle for the Class Three championship.

Class Two will begin their semifinals at 4 p.m. as Jefferson (Festus) takes on Hermann while Skyline plays Bishop LeBlond in the other semi. At 6 p.m., Gideon and South Iron start the Class One semifinals with Miller and Santa Fe facing off in the last semifinal of the night.

Class Two Semifinals

Hermann (29-5-1) returns to the Show Me Center after taking third place last year in Class Three. The Bearcats drop down a class and will look for junior Holly Heldt to lead Hermann back to the title game. Heldt has a team-high 357 kills to go along with 234 digs. The Bearcat offense runs through senior Cydney Moeckli as she has 831 assists on the year. This is the fifth straight Final Four appearance for Hermann. The Blue Jays (32-6-1) head to Cape Girardeau riding a 12-match winning streak and has only lost one set during that run. Junior Kirstyn Loyd paces a young Jefferson team with 405 kills while junior Paige Siebert has handed out 1, 012 helpers on the season. 

Skyline (20-8-4) makes their first-ever appearance in the state final four this season after defeating Liberty (Mountain View) 3-0 in the quarterfinals this past weekend. The Lady Tigers are led by senior Jadyn Foster, who has 244 kills on the year. Junior Shayla Lynn leads a very balanced group on the defensive side with 577 digs. Bishop LeBlond (26-9-1) heads back to state for the first time since 2015. The Golden Eagles offense flows throught senior Kianna Herrera as she leads the team with 370 kills while sophomore Kyla Conard has handed out 567 assists on the season.

Class One Semifinals

Gideon (31-1-1) will be looking to win their first state championship this weekend. The Bulldogs have a balanced attack that is led by senior Kaitlyn Clenney. She has 249 kills and has added 205 digs on the year. Senior Malerie Sharp controls the offense with 879 assists. South Iron (26-8-1) comes to the Show Me Center by winning 16 of their last 18 matches. Junior Madison Ayer handles things offensively for the Lady Panthers with 372 kills while junior Drew Gayle has handed out 570 helpers this season.

Miller (32-3-1) returns to Cape Girardeau after finishing third last year in Class Two. Senior Kaylee Helton returns to lead the Cardinals with 252 kills while senior Alli Mitchell has a team-high 806 assists. Santa Fe is looking to win their eighth state title this year. The Lady Chiefs are paced by senior Bella Limback who leads the team in kills with 398 and in digs with 244. Junior Cassie Aversman handles the setter duties for santa Fe as she has 630 helpers this season.

The Class Two Championship match will take place Saturday afternoon at noon while the Class One title game will complete the weekend starting at 4 p.m.

Make sure to follow Jim Powers on Twitter at @hssportscaravan for all of the updates from the volleyball championships