Prep volleyball rankings: Showdown week leads to shakeup
It was a week surely to be remembered when the Central Section sets girls volleyball playoff seeds across its five divisions in November.
It started with then-No. 5 Clovis West High rallying to beat then-No. 4 Liberty-Bakersfield 18-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-9 on Sept. 22 behind 19 kills from Micah Hebert.
The week of rankings-shakers continued Sept. 24 with then-unranked Stockdale sweeping former No. 2 Clovis 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 in Bakersfield, despite 20 kills from Cougars standout Taylen Ballard.
That night also saw top-ranked Centennial outlast then-No. 3 Independence 23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24, with Emily Hansen contributing 18 kills; former No. 9 Frontier overcoming 14 kills from Makayla Lewis in a 25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22 defeat of then-No. 6 Central, and former No. 11 Central Valley Christian getting eight kills and four blocks from Hailey Hilvers while downing then-No. 8 Buchanan 26-24, 11-25, 25-17, 25-18.
Centennial continues as The Bee’s top-ranked team in what appears to be a wide-open Division I race.
In Division IV, Sierra improved to 18-0 over the weekend with a 6-0 run to the championship at the Sunnyside Tournament. The Chieftains, the section’s only undefeated team, beat Monache 25-22, 25-18 in the final.
Nick Giannandrea: 559-441-6103, @NickG_FB
Central Section Volleyball rankings
OVERALL
(Records through Sept. 26)
- 1. Centennial 16-5
- 2. Independence 6-3
- 3. Clovis West 17-7
- 4. Clovis 17-9
- 5. Liberty-Bakersfield 20-6
- 6. Frontier 18-5
- 7. Garces 13-5
- 8. Central 24-5
- 9. Central Valley Christian 15-7
- 10. Clovis East 10-3
- 11. Buchanan 10-8
- 12. Stockdale 9-9
- 13. Clovis North 11-8
- 14. Bakersfield 4-8
- 15. Exeter 16-2
DIVISIONAL
- D-I: 1. Centennial; 2. Clovis West; 3. Clovis
- D-II: 1. Independence; 2. Garces; 3. CVC
- D-III: 1. Bakersfield Christian 12-7; 2. Yosemite 20-8; 3. Mission Oak 10-3
- D-IV: 1. Sierra 18-0; 2. Minarets 10-3; 3. Liberty-Madera Ranchos 18-4
- D-V: 1. Frazier Mountain 13-6-1; 2. Immanuel 4-7; 3. California City 13-6-2
This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Prep volleyball rankings: Showdown week leads to shakeup."