AIA 6A-4A high school boys' volleyball season preview for 2023
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the runner-up team in boys 6A volleyball last season.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association boys' volleyball season is underway, and we'll be taking a look at the early standings, and how teams, previous champions and runners-up are doing so far this season.
6A
As of Monday, there are five undefeated teams in 6A. Maricopa, Perry and Highland are all 3-0, while Brophy and Chandler are 4-0. One of Brophy's wins includes a comeback win over the defending 6A champion, Sandra Day O'Connor, where Brophy was down two sets and rallied to win the next three. O'Connor is currently 2-1 and will have their work cut out for them to try and defend their title this season, as they have defending 6A runner-up Highland on the schedule, which should be a good test for both teams. Highland has started the season off well. According to MaxPreps, Highland is the highest ranked team in the state, clocking in at No. 4 in the national rankings. Highland won't have to wait long to avenge the championship loss to O'Connor, as the teams are scheduled to play each other on March 24 at 5:30 p.m.
5A
There are six undefeated teams in the 5A division. Cienega and Verrado are both 3-0, while Ironwood, Raymond S. Kellis, Casteel and Catalina Foothills are all 4-0. Cienega hasn't given any reason as to why it's not capable of repeating once again, as the Bobcats have a favorable schedule ahead of them and are scheduled to play Catalina Foothills twice, the only team on their schedule still undefeated. The 5A runners-up from last season, Gilbert, was promoted to the 6A Central division, and are currently 1-1. Gilbert gets to face Highland twice and Casteel and Sandra Day O'Connor once, giving the Tigers tons of opportunities to show people that the move up was the right call. The highest-ranked team in 5A is Casteel, who sits at No. 12 in MaxPreps countrywide rankings, ranking as the second-best team in Arizona.
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4A
There are several teams that are undefeated in 4A. Valley Christian, Northwest Christian, Salpointe Catholic, Flowing Wells, Arizona College Prep, Eastmark, Marcos de Niza, Mesquite, Odyssey Institute, Prescott, Thunderbird, Deer Valley and Agua Fria are all of the teams that have played at least a game and won. Marcos de Niza and Thunderbird sport the most wins out of the bunch, with four. The defending 4A champions and runner-up, ALA Queen Creek and ALA Gilbert North, both made the move up to 5A this season, playing out of the Independent Region. ALA Queen Creek lost its first game to Ironwood, but still has a lot of the season to go, including matchups with Arizona College Prep, Eastmark and Salpointe, who are all undefeated in 4A, and a 4A championship rematch with ALA Gilbert North. ALA Gilbert North is 3-0 in non-section AIA games and will look to carry that momentum for the rest of the season, as it also has Arizona College Prep and Eastmark on its schedule. The highest-ranked team according to MaxPreps is Arizona College Prep, as it is ranked at No. 45 in the country.
The AIA rankings for all sections will be available on March 28, 2023, at noon at azpreps365.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona high school boys' volleyball 2023 season preview
