New S.F. Bay Area Volleyball Top 10

It’s been a see-saw season for the Valley Christian of San Jose girls but after a 3-2 win on the road at Archbishop Mitty in their only match last week, the VC girls get to go to the head of the class for this week’s Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area Top 10 rankings in girls volleyball.

The Warriors started the season 13-0 before losing to state No. 1 Torrey Pines and then to Pasadena La Salle, another top 20 team, both at the prestigious Durango Classic. They did have a win over Los Alamitos (No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section at the time), but then took a local loss to a state-ranked Menlo team that seems capable of beating a lot of top teams in any given match. After that, the Warriors lost again to Torrey Pines and state-ranked La Costa Canyon at the Asics Challenge, but they have paid for the losses, all to state-ranked teams. We provide these rankings as part of a promotion with the Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area TV show.

Note: This week’s rankings do not include any Tuesday matches played this week. Also, for this week’s new State Top 20 in girls volleyball, CLICK HERE.
And for a short feature on Mitty girls with top football brothers at rival schools, CLICK HERE.

Watch highlights of the Bay Area’s best teams every Sunday at 7 p.m. on KOFY, Channel 20, San Francisco.

1. (2) Valley Christian (San Jose) 22-5
Last Tuesday and before the ink was even dry on last week’s rankings, the Warriors had posted their 3-2 win on the road at Archbishop Mitty.

2. (1) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 25-4
In between the loss to Valley Christian and another to unbeaten Granite Bay in the finals of the Stockton Classic, the Monarchs won three times in Stockton, including a semifinal win over Redwood of Larkspur. Those two teams could meet in this year’s CIF NorCal Division II championship.

3. (3) Redwood (Larkspur) 34-3
If only the Giants could find a way to beat teams from the WCAL, they could be on top of these rankings. All three losses are from that league. Besides San Jose Presentation, two are to Mitty, including a 32-30, 25-23 loss in the semis of the Stockton Classic.

4. (4) Menlo (Atherton) 22-5
The Lady Knights had a fine week. After blowing past their arch-rival from down the street, in a 3-0 win over Sacred Heart Prep, the girls went 4-1 at the Stockton Classic, losing only to the Modesto Gregori team that lost to champion Granite Bay and Redwood.

5. (5) Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 20-5
It was light duty last week for the Irish with no WCAL matches and a 3-0 win over St. Mary’s at Berkeley. This week could be big as they face a Mitty team they beat at the Milpitas Spikefest.

6. (6) Branson (Ross) 17-6
After 3-0 wins over hosts San Rafael Terra Linda and Mill Valley Tamalpais, the Bulls have won six straight 3-0 Marin County athletic League matches since a 3-1 loss to Redwood.

7. (9) St. Francis (Mountain View) 13-7
The Lancers won their only match last week, beating a Presentation team that was coming off a win over Redwood.

8. (NR) Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) 14-8
The team that graced the Bay Area volleyball issue cover of our media partner SportStars Magazine finally breaks into the rankings despite going 2-2 at the Stockton Classic. They lost to champion Granite Bay and Menlo, but they got a win over state-ranked Stockton St. Mary’s.

9. (NR) Homestead (Cupertino) 13-7
The Mustangs are back after beating Palo Alto for the second time this season. The only real stinker loss they have is to Los Altos, and that team is 21-3.

10. (10) Palo Alto 15-5
Lost for the second time to Homestead, however with so many teams beating each other, including previous No. 7 Campolindo not only losing to O’Dowd in Stockton, but to Menlo-Atherton too, and previous No. 8 Monte Vista losing to a Danville San Ramon Valley team that has losses to Campolindo and Paly, means the Vikings get to stay in behind the team that beat them again.

Dropped out: Previous No. 7 Campolindo (Moraga); No. 8 Monte Vista (Danville) 24-4.