Arizona Republic's Super 10 girls high school volleyball rankings: Week 6
The week after the biggest in-season tournament of the year — the Nike Tournament of Champions — is usually a calm one in the Arizona high school volleyball landscape. Not so much this year. Half of last week’s Arizona Republic Super 10 dropped contests this week, continuing an unpredictable season that hopefully foreshadows some exciting state tournaments next month.
Here is this week’s Super 10:
1. Corona del Sol, 25-3
The Aztecs have been off since the Nike Tournament of Champions over a week ago. They return to action on Wednesday against Xavier Prep. With six games left before the postseason, the next two weeks are about building momentum.
2. Horizon, 22-6
Horizon had yet another impressive week, knocking off Notre Dame Prep and Desert Mountain. Teraya Sigler has been ridiculous since debuting on Sept. 26, averaging 4.5 kills per set. It’s a shame we don’t get to see the 5A Huskies play 6A Corona del Sol in the postseason, but the 5A playoffs will be fun anyway.
3. Millennium, 23-3
A ho-hum week for Millennium, which swept Westview, Canyon View and Desert Edge on three straight days. The Tigers will likely go into the 5A playoffs as the No. 1 seed, but their Oct. 25 showdown with Notre Dame Prep looms between now and then.
4. Cactus Shadows, 15-2
The Falcons dropped their only contest of the week, 3-1, against Chaparral, which is just the No. 12 team in the AIA’s 5A rankings. While it was certainly a disappointing outing, it’s still just Cactus Shadow’s second loss of the season. This week’s showdown against Notre Dame Prep is a big bounce-back opportunity.
5. Gilbert, 21-5
The Tigers are currently in the midst of a rare 17-day break. After easing back into action with some likely wins early in the week, they get Corona del Sol on Oct. 20 in a potential 6A championship game preview.
6. Perry, 27-7
In a largely quiet week across the state following the Nike Tournament of Champions, Perry stands out. The Pumas went to San Diego and tested themselves in the SoCal Invitational. They come out of it looking much better than they did a week ago after going 7-1 and winning the silver bracket. Their only loss was a 2-1 thriller to Washington state powerhouse Lake Stevens.
7. Notre Dame Prep, 20-8
Last week’s 3-1 loss to Horizon was disappointing, not because losing to the Huskies is bad in itself, but because the Saints are now 0-3 against the top three teams in the conference. Fortunately, Notre Dame Prep gets another shot at each of those schools (Horizon, Millennium, Cactus Shadows) before the regular season is up.
8. Sandra Day O’Connor, 15-3
The Eagles are the lone new entry in this week’s Super 10. They arrive at the expense of Sunnyslope, whom they knocked off, 3-2. This team has every chance to win the 6A title.
9. Hamilton, 27-6
Wednesday’s straight-sets loss to Xavier Prep was the most disappointing performance of the year for Hamilton, which has now lost four times in the past two weeks after a strong start.
10. Estrella Foothills, 22-1
In 4A, Estrella Foothills kept on chugging this week. The Wolves were never in danger of so much as dropping a set in consecutive sweeps over Barry Goldwater and Peoria. That doesn’t mean the conference title is a cinch, though. Salpointe Catholic and Canyon del Oro are both putting together impressive seasons down in Tucson.
(Note: The Republic rankings are based on a variety of factors, including matches and sets won, AIA rankings and strength of schedule).
Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Republic's Super 10 girls high school volleyball rankings
