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The tournament gets under way Saturday
with eight matches, beginning at 9:30 a.m. First-round winners
advance to the quarterfinals Tuesday (March 15) beginning at 3:30
p.m. The semifinals and finals will be played Wednesday (March 16),
with the first semifinal match at 3:30 and the second set to begin
at 4:45. The third-place match is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the
championship match is slated to start at 7:15 p.m.
The Oakland Lake Crest team is a
first-year co-op involving Kansas and host school Oakland Lake
Crest. The combined enrollment for the co-op is 68 students in the
seventh and eighth grades. Kansas advanced to last year's 7A state
tournament with a 22-0 record and lost to Lexington in the first
round. Over the 17-year history of 7A volleyball, Kansas qualified
for the state tournament 12 times, winning its only 7A title in
2001. This is the first appearance in the 7A tournament for Oakland
Lake Crest. The Titans have six players on the roster at 5-foot-5 or
taller.
Eight of the 16 finalists have at
least 20 wins. The combined win-loss record of the 16 is 300-50, a
winning percentage of .857. Jacksonville Our Saviour (24-1) and tiny
Elkhart (24-1) have the most wins among the finalists. Other 20-win
qualifiers are West Salem (22-1), Peoria Limestone Walters (23-1),
Bloomington Holy Trinity (20-3), Mendon Unity (20-2) and Colchester
West Prairie (20-3).
Mount Pulaski (18-5) is making its
10th trip to the 7A tournament. The Honeybears are seeking their
fifth state championship. Mount Pulaski won 7A in 1993, 1994, 1998
and 2000. The all-time leader in 7A state championships is
Hartsburg-Emden with six. Its string of three straight championships
was stopped with a 15-8, 15-5 loss to Elkhart in the sectional.
Hartsburg-Emden won titles in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
The only other school in this year's field to earn the title is
Divernon, which won in 1991.
Mount Pulaski and Elkhart are in the
same school district, and students from the two schools attend
perennial IHSA volleyball powerhouse Mount Pulaski High School. The
seventh- and eighth-grade enrollment for Elkhart is 19. The seventh-
and eighth-grade enrollment for Mount Pulaski is 75. IESA rules
allow for students in grades five through seven to play for the
school's seventh-grade team. The Elkhart 7A roster includes three
players in fifth grade, two in sixth and seven in seventh.
The largest school in this year's
field is Colchester West Prairie Middle School, with a seventh- and
eighth-grade enrollment of 137. Enrollments for the remainder of the
field (seventh- and eighth-grade only) are Mendon Unity 132, Bunker
Hill Meissner 130, Bloomington Holy Trinity 127, Jacksonville Our
Saviour 92, St. Elmo 86, Grand Ridge 74, Oakland Lake Crest 68,
Cissna Park 55, Gifford 54, West Salem 44, Peoria Limestone Walters
39, Divernon 35, Metamora St. Mary's 31 and Elkhart 19.
[to top of second column in this article] |
 Five of the 16 teams in this year's
field are making their first appearance at the state tournament.
They are Bloomington Holy Trinity, Oakland Lake Crest, Colchester
West Prairie, Elkhart and Gifford. Only three of the teams are
appearing for more than the fourth time. Following Mount Pulaski
with 10 appearances are Peoria Limestone Walters and Cissna Park,
each making its sixth trip.
Several of the finalists can throw
big lineups at their opponents. Leading the way is Jacksonville Our
Saviour with 5-10 middle hitter Katie Lindsey, 5-9 middle hitter
Casey Hance and 5-8 middle hitter Brittany Barfield. The Shamrocks'
roster also includes 5-7 outside hitter Sam Hemingartner and 5-7
outside hitter Morgan Eilering. Cissna Park boasts 5-9 middle
hitters Lauren Bauer and Ashley Luhman. Metamor St. Mary's has 5-8
hitters Natalie Marchal and Ashley Voudrie.
First-round pairings for Saturday
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Match 1,
9:30 a.m. -- West Salem (22-1) vs. Metamora St. Mary's (18-5)
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Match 2,
10:45 a.m. -- Bunker Hill Meissner (11-5) vs. Jacksonville Our
Saviour (24-1)
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Match 3,
noon -- Peoria Limestone Walters (23-1) vs. Bloomington Holy
Trinity (20-3)
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Match 4,
1:15 p.m. -- Divernon (16-4) vs. Mendon Unity (20-2)
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Match 5,
3 p.m. -- Oakland Lake Crest (22-0) vs. Colchester West Prairie
(20-3)
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Match 6,
4:15 p.m. -- Mount Pulaski (18-5) vs. St. Elmo (18-2)
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Match 7,
5:30 p.m. -- Elkhart (24-1) vs. Gifford (16-4)
- Match 8, 6:45 p.m. -- Grand Ridge
(13-7) vs. Cissna Park (15-6)
Visit
www.iesa.org for additional information regarding this and all
other IESA state final events. Click on the "Volleyball" link at the
top of the website's front page. Rosters for all of the 16 teams and
the pairings chart are included on the
volleyball page.
[Illinois
Elementary School Association news release] |
