NEW State Girls VB Top 20

The Granite Bay girls were regarded as Sac-Joaquin Section Division I favorites before the season, but now may have bigger possibilities. Photo: Mark Tennis.

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Note: This week’s rankings do not include any results from Tuesday, Oct. 15.

It’s one thing to be 27-0 but when it’s a Northern California girls volleyball team that’s 27-0 and also has a win over Archbishop Mitty of San Jose then it’s a 27-0 to begin to get excited about.

If you don’t know, Mitty has been the FAB 50 No. 1 team in the nation twice, including last year when the Monarchs were undefeated. The Monarchs also were No. 2 in last week’s state Top 20.

Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar took his team to the gym at Lincoln of Stockton last weekend (where he once coached the Trojans all the way to the D1 state finals) for the fifth annual Stockton Classic tournament and a chance to see some teams that the Monarchs don’t normally see.

One of those teams was Granite Bay. The Grizzlies entered the day unbeaten at 23-0, but had not faced any elite competition yet from outside of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section. They have now.

In the title match of the Stockton event, Granite Bay used outstanding serving and a strong block to beat Mitty 25-18, 25-23.

Although the matches during the day were all best-of-three instead of the usual best-of-five, it was still a statement win for Granite Bay.

“We definitely knew this was going to be a big game, but we came out strong and confident in our abilities,” said Granite Bay senior Nicolette Pinkney, one of the team’s top players. “We definitely want to win our section title first, but are taking it one step at a time.”

Redwood of Larkspur pushed Mitty earlier in the semifinals, while Granite Bay had to scratch and claw for its semifinal triumph over Gregori of Modesto. Mitty defeated Redwood 32-30, 25-23 while Granite Bay topped Gregori 27-25, 25-18.

CalHiSports.com Top 20
State Girls Volleyball Rankings

(Previous ranking in parentheses; through reported results of Monday night, Oct. 21)

1. (1) Torrey Pines (San Diego) 22-1
Championship at the Durango Classic and runner-up finish at Asics Challenge gives the Falcons all they need to back up this ranking.

2. (4) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 26-4
CIFSS coaches’ poll still has Los Alamitos on top while Orange County Register poll has Dana Hills. We’ll confuse things further by lifting up Mater Dei to No. 2 this week due to tourney titles at Dave Mohs and Torrey Pines events.

3. (9) Granite Bay 27-0
The Grizzly girls know their first order of business is to win Sac-Joaquin Section title, but we liked how they played against Mitty and they certainly have the lineup to go further.

4. (6) Francis Parker (San Diego) 18-3
Behind tourney MVP Sara Benjamin, the Lancers went 7-0 last weekend at the So Cal Invitational.

5. (11) Dana Hills (Dana Point) 17-4
Dolphins are now No. 1 in the OC Register but still only No. 8 in the CIFSS D1 coaches’ poll. Go figure.

6. (3) Los Alamitos 22-5
Loss last week to Newport Harbor by the Griffins caused a jumble of the top teams in OC.

7. (8) Redondo (Redondo Beach) 17-5
Big win for the Sea Hawks last week over beach rival Mira Costa.

8. (5) Lakewood 21-5
With Los Al losing, Lakewood has to drop as well because of head-to-head loss to the Griffins.

9. (14) Valley Christian (San Jose) 22-5
For matches just played in Northern California, the Warriors are a clear-cut No. 1. Could have done better, though, in some of the other out-of-area tourneys.

10. (13) Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 15-4
Another solid week for the Sea Kings.

11. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 25-4
Despite a shaky week for them, coach Bret Almazan-Cesar and his girls still have D2 state title defense squarely in their focus.

12. (15) Santiago (Corona) 29-0
Since the Sharks have yet to beat a team as strong as Mitty, this is where they land in this week’s rankings.

13. (7) La Salle (Pasadena) 18-4
The Lancers lost twice at last weekend’s Nike TOC in Arizona (won by Xavier Prep of Phoenix). They can still make a statement in two weeks at the Santa Barbara TOC.

14. (10) Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) 15-6
Loss to Redondo only drops the Mustangs four spots this week.

15. (16) Redwood (Larkspur) 31-3
This team is a real threat to go all the way and win the D2 state title.

16. (12) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 17-5
The Mavericks remain one of the top teams in the CIF San Diego Section.

17. (NR) Gregori (Modesto) 33-4
University of Pacific-bound Courtney Robinson is a major force for the Jaguars, who gave Granite Bay all it could handle in Stockton Classic semifinals.

18. (17) Menlo (Atherton) 22-5
Coach Steve Cavella’s team bounced back from a quarterfinal loss in Stockton to Gregori and ended 3-1 on the day.

19. (NR) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 19-3
The Lions went 4-1 at the Nike TOC in Arizona and lost their only match to eventual champion Xavier Prep.

20. (18) Sacred Heart Cathedral (S.F.) 20-5
Somebody had to drop from last week’s top 20 that didn’t lose in order to make room for Gregori and Oaks Christian. It ended up being previous No. 19 Orange Lutheran.

Dropped Out: Previous No 19 Lutheran (Orange); No. 20 St. Mary’s (Stockton).

For this week’s new San Francisco Bay Area Top 10, CLICK HERE.

For a short feature on two Mitty girls who root for their football standout brothers at rival schools, CLICK HERE.

Note: We welcome all input about teams not included and the order although we tend not to change it if teams don’t lose. For comments or questions, email markjtennis@gmail.com.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @CalHiSports