Prep volleyball: Clovis West making charge in the TRAC
Don’t look now, but the Central Section’s most successful Division I girls volleyball program over the past seven seasons is on a run.
The Bee’s No. 4-ranked Clovis West, with five section titles and a runner-up finish since 2007, has won seven straight matches heading into a showdown with No. 6 Central on Tuesday.
The matchup pits two of the three teams tied atop the Tri-River Athletic Conference standings at 5-1. No. 5 Clovis East also owns a share of first place.
Clovis West opened TRAC play Oct. 1 by getting swept by Central 25-17, 25-21, 26-24 in the Grizzlies’ gym. The Golden Eagles haven’t lost in TRAC play since, handing Clovis East its only loss 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-15 on Oct. 15.
Should Clovis West win out (remaining matches are Thursday at No. 11 Buchanan, Nov. 3 at Clovis East and Nov. 5 vs. No. 7 Clovis), the Golden Eagles might be in position to claim D-I’s top playoff seed.
Their case would be even stronger should top-ranked and Southwest Yosemite League-leading Liberty-Bakersfield win out.
The Golden Eagles rallied to beat the Patriots 18-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-9 on their home court Sept. 22 for a key head-to-head victory.
Liberty’s remaining matches are Tuesday at No. 15 Stockdale, Thursday vs. No. 9 Garces, Nov. 3 vs. No. 2 Centennial and Nov. 5 at No. 12 Bakersfield.
Playoff seeding across the section’s five divisions will be announced Nov. 6.
▪ The City/County All-Star volleyball matches are set for Nov. 22 at Hoover’s Event Center.
Players from schools in Central Section playoff Divisions III-V will square off in a North County vs. South County format starting at 4 p.m., while players from Divisions I-II face off in a City vs. County format at 6 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students/seniors, while all club volleyball players with their membership card will be admitted free.
Nick Giannandrea: 559-441-6103, @NickG_FB
Central Section volleyball rankings
OVERALL
(Records through Oct. 24)
- 1. Liberty-Bakersfield 27-6
- 2. Centennial 21-5
- 3. Independence 17-6
- 4. Clovis West 25-12
- 5. Clovis East 25-7
- 6. Central 29-6
- 7. Clovis 19-14
- 8. Central Valley Christian 21-9
- 9. Garces 17-8
- 10. Frontier 23-12
- 11. Buchanan 16-16
- 12. Bakersfield 7-13
- 13. Exeter 29-5
- 14. Clovis North 17-17
- 15. Stockdale 13-17
DIVISIONAL
- D-I: 1. Liberty; 2. Centennial; 3. Clovis West
- D-II: 1. Independence; 2. CVC; 3. Garces
- D-III: 1. Bakersfield Christian 18-7; 2. Mission Oak 21-6; 3. Yosemite 26-9
- D-IV: 1. Liberty-Madera Ranchos 24-6; 2. Sierra 24-3; 3. Minarets 22-4
- D-V: 1. Frazier Mountain 18-7-1; 2. Immanuel 8-13; 3. California City 16-9-2
This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Prep volleyball: Clovis West making charge in the TRAC."