Rankings

[Kramerica]

I'm getting tired of waiting for rankings, so here are mine. Feel free to dissect them as necessary:

Class 4
1. Lafayette
2. LSW
3. SJA
4. Francis Howell
5. Ozark
6. Blue Springs
7. Lees Summit
8. STA
9 Ozark
10. Hannibal

Class 3
1. Pleasant Hill
2. Borgia
3. Lo-Rog
4. O'Hara
5. Cape N-D
6. Perryville
7. Villa Duchesne
8. Carl Junction
9. Grain Valley
10. Fulton

I don't really know class 1 and 2 well enough to give good rankings. Although St. Pius, Fatima, Mt. Grove, and Holden are all probably top 5 or 6 in class 2.

 

[hailtoothevictors]

Thanks for the effort.


Would not have Cape ND appearing in the top 10 this week for sure. They were trounced convincingly by Farmington early last week, and never made it out of pool play in their own tournament.

 

[volleyballin]

I know that Ozark is good, but they probably don't deserve to be #5 and #9 in the state...lol! I believe that it was Farmington that got smoked by Cape Notre Dame.

 

[hailtoothevictors]

You know you are right ... it was Farmington on the receiving end of that smoking.


Still if you can't make it past the pool play (4 team pool - 2 advance from each pool to semis), in your own tourney - I'll stand by the prior comment that they don't belong in the top 10 in the state.



Thanks for the correction - must be my anti-private bias surfacing again.

This post was edited on 9/4 12:50 PM by hailtoothevictors

 

[Kramerica]

Oops, my bad. I meant to have Blue Springs South at #9.

 

[justwonderingNkc]

Class 3 you have to put Westminister as one of the top 3 teams in the state. Probably have the best hitter in Class 3.

 

[vitocorleone]

Pleasant Hill has some nice players, but coaching will slow them down.

 

[volleyballin]

I think that we should just get rid of coaches all together and have parents run HS Volleyball! I bet that would turn out GREAT!

 

[get-r-dun]

Who really cares about rankings anyway? They are pretty much meaningless this early in the season. Your rankings don't look too bad, although I would have BSS ranked in class 4 and I would not have P. Hill at #1 in class 3. I heard they struggled with Holden and they play a pretty weak schedule.

 

[hailtoothevictors]

Yep I'd not even have the rankings. You have a playoff - thats enough.

 

[SEMOVBFanatic04]

Actually it was Notre Dame that trounced Farmington 25-10, 25-14.

As for the Class 1 rankings, since they aren't being discussed much on here, I'd say six of the 10 best teams in the state are from Southeast Missouri: Eminence, Winona, Valle Catholic, Bernie, Leopold and Advance. Eminence is the prohibitive favorite being the defending champions, but tonight they just eeked out a win over Bernie 25-24, 25-24 both sets in pool play in the Dig for Life Challenge (SEMO Classics).

 

[justwonderingNkc]

actually there is 7 or 8 in that area


You also left off Lesterville and Bismarck on this group. Lesterville made the final 8 at SEMO losing a hard fought 3 set game to Dexter 23-25 in the 3rd game. Dexter lost to Bernie in the semis in 3 23-35 in the 3rd as well. Lesterville beat Bismarck in the 1st round of gold in 3 games.


I watched all these teams so far except Valle and Winona and they all looked good.


Eminence plays great D

Bernie has some good hitters and does a good job blocking

Leopold has some good hitters

Advance has 2 girls that can pound the ball

Bismarck has Darcy

Lesterville has a mean middle and do it all player




The SEMO sectional for Class 1 will be a tough exciting one. I predict Lesterville, Bernie, Advance to meet up in that sectional and then I guess S Pemiscot.

 

[SEMOVBFanatic04]

Re: actually there is 7 or 8 in that area

Yes, justwonderingNkc, you're correct. Bismarck and Lesterville definitely deserve some recognition. I think most people (myself included) discounted Lesterville this season after losing Taylor Cook, whom I was very happy to see this weekend watching her alma mater at the tournament.

I've heard it mentioned from one of those coaches that Valle Catholic is incredibly stacked this year. Winona allegedly has the best player in the state who's being looked at by North Carolina. I watched Eminence over the weekend and they don't look as solid as they did last season.

Class 1 is amazingly strong in this area, and you're right: any of those eight teams stands a great chance at making it to the Final Four. I agree with your assessment about the teams most likely to make it to Sectionals. I'd only argue that in District 1, while South Pemiscot County is the prohibitive favorite, I'd say keep an eye on Gideon. They're pretty scrappy and could pull off an upset. District 2 seems pretty much in the bag for Bernie, as does District 3 for Lesterville. I think District 4 will be the most exciting one to watch - Advance, Leopold and St. Vincent have all made lots of noise in the area. Advance defeated Leopold in pool play in the Woodland Tournament, but then Leopold bounced back to avenge that loss in the championship match. Leopold and St. Vincent tied during pool play in the Classics, and St. Vincent was the only team to take Notre Dame into three sets in the Gold Bracket playoffs. Advance and Bernie both came very close to defeating Notre Dame; scores were almost identical both games, something like 25-20, 25-23.

 

[justwonderingNkc]

Looks like Leopold responds



Leopold 25 25

Bernie 10 17

 

[Bogey Man]

Re: Looks like Leopold responds


The majority of Class 1 schools in the state are located in SEMO area. Northwest MO is another area with lots of Class 1 teams. It all has to do with those small towns refusing to consolidate during the big push towards consolidation in the '60s and '70s. Other than those 2 areas, Class 1 schools are sparse throughout the state, hence most good teams will come from those 2 areas.

 

[SEMOVBFanatic04]

Re: Advance sweeps Bernie

Advance 25 25
Bernie 15 23


Aimie Simmers had six kills and eight blocks in the Hornets' road victory.


Liza Gray had seven kills, while Allie Below recorded 14 assists. Jay Maddox led the defensive effort with 10 digs for Advance (10-2-1).
Bernie dropped to 9-5 on the season. The Mules took second place in this past weekend's 48-team Dig for Life Challenge. JV - Bernie won 25-23, 23-25, 25-12. Bernie's JV improved to 5-2-2 while Advance JV dropped to 1-1.

@BogeyMan: You make a good point. Arguably, that may explain why St. Louis always dominates in Classes 3-4. There is only five Class 4 schools in Southeast Missouri (Farmington, Cape Central, Jackson, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff).

 

[SEMOVBFanatic04]

Re: Advance tops Leopold

ADVANCE 25 25
LEOPOLD 18 18

The Lady Hornets swept Class 1 foe Leopold for a second time this season in what could be a setup of an impending District championship match. Advance started with an early 9-3 lead. The Wildcats responded and got as close as 17-13 before the Hornets finished the first set. Leopold got off to an early 9-1 lead in the second set but strong serving and offense by Advance's Liza Gray propeller the Hornets to victory on their home court.
The avengeful win comes after Leopold clinched the Woodland Tournament crown from the Hornets earlier this month.
Advance improves to 11-2-1 on the season, with the only other loss coming to Notre Dame in the Elite Eight round of the Dig for Life Challenge, and the split with Bismarck in the same tournament.
Leopold drops to 10-3-1 on the season, with two losses coming from Advance and the other to Bernie. The Wildcats split with St. Vincent in the Challenge.