Updated Team Rankings for Tuesday, Sept. 25
Granted, the high school volleyball season starts a week earlier than it used to, but it seems odd that we are down to just three teams left in the state that are undefeated and we haven’t even reached October yet.
Whether that is an indication of great balance across the state or the lack of dominant teams is a debate for another day. For now, let’s take a look at each of the three undefeated teams and explain why none of them are ranked at the top spot in their respective classes.
Thayer Central is the largest undefeated school at 15-0 in Class C-2. Yet, I have them ranked #5 in the class. Why? It’s all about who Thayer Central has played compared to the teams ranked ahead of it.
Although 15-0 – and a very good team, I would add – Thayer Central doesn’t have much in the way of quality wins. The best win at this point for Thayer Central was a 2-1 win over a 14-3 Malcolm team which is not ranked in Class C-1. Meanwhile, the top-ranked team in Class C-2 – Stanton – had its only loss come to one of the top teams in Class C-1 (Bishop Neumann) and owns five wins over various other ranked teams.
Class C-2 #2 Blue Hill has two wins over other ranked C-2 teams and its only losses are to Grand Island CC and Superior. Superior, the defending state champs, come in at #3, has five wins over ranked teams and its only losses have been to Grand Island CC and Doniphan-Trumbull. And, coming in at #4 is Hartington Cedar Catholic, which has four wins over ranked opponents and its only losses are against Columbus Scotus and Stanton (twice).
Does Thayer Central deserve to be ranked higher? Maybe. But I would rather let teams figure it out between themselves on the court rather than just randomly throw someone up to the top on a whim. Thayer Central has road matches in the next couple weeks at both Superior and Blue Hill. That will give TC a chance to earn a higher ranking instead of having it just given to them.
In Class D-1, Humphrey-Lindsay Holy Family is 14-0 behind star player Taya Beller but ranked #3. The Bulldogs have really nice wins over teams like CWC, Exeter-Milligan and Clarkson-Leigh and is without a doubt a very strong contender for the state title. However, top-ranked Archbishop Bergan has played an absolutely brutal schedule and sits at 17-2. The Knights’ only losses are to Class C-1 powers Bishop Neumann and Lincoln Lutheran while Bergan also is the only team to beat St. Paul this year. In 19 matches, the Knights have played just one Tier 4 team and have only lost the four combined sets to Neumann and Lutheran. At #2 in Class D-1 is Johnson-Brock. That’s three-time defending state champs Johnson-Brock, which has only one loss to a team from Nebraska, which came against BDS – the top ranked team in Class D-2.
Then, in Class D-2 we have 17-0 Ewing, which sits at #2 behind one-loss BDS. That one loss by BDS was to Superior, and frankly, the edge that BDS has over Ewing right now stems from the summer team camp circuit, where BDS was the better team. How much longer BDS can hold off an undefeated Ewing team for the top spot probably depends on how it does this Thursday in a triangular with Blue Hill and Giltner. If BDS can get out of Giltner with two wins that night, the Eagles could very well run the table the rest of the way.
Here are the updated rankings in each class:
Rank, Team, Record, Last Week’s Ranking
Class A
1.) Millard North (19-1) 1
2.) Lincoln Pius X (16-2) 3
3.) Millard West (12-6) 5
4.) Gretna (13-3) 6
5.) Papillion-LaVista (15-6) 2
6.) Papillion-LaVista South (13-9) 4
7.) Millard South (8-8) 7
8.) Omaha Marian (9-5) 8
9.) Lincoln Southwest (9-7) 9
10.) Lincoln Southeast (9-7) 10
Class B
1.) Skutt Catholic (11-3) 2
2.) Elkhorn South (15-4) 1
3.) Omaha Duchesne (18-2) 3
4.) Hastings (15-1) 4
5.) Waverly (13-4) 5
6.) Norris (14-9) 10
7.) Alliance (10-2) 5
8.) Sidney (12-3) 6
9.) Elkhorn (9-8) 7
10.) Bennington (11-7) 9
Class C-1
1.) Wahoo (12-1) 1
2.) Lincoln Lutheran (17-1) 3
3.) Bishop Neumann (13-1) 4
4.) St. Paul (18-1) 2
5.) Grand Island CC (14-3) 5
6.) Omaha Concordia (8-8) 7
7.) Syracuse (12-1) 8
8.) Ogallala (12-6) 10
9.) David City Aquinas (11-2) NR
10.) Columbus Lakeview (11-4) NR
Class C-2
1.) Stanton (15-1) 1
2.) Blue Hill (13-2) 3
3.) Superior (13-2) 2
4.) Hartington Cedar Catholic (16-3) 4
5.) Thayer Central (15-0) 5
6.) Hastings St. Cecilia (11-4) NR
7.) Freeman (13-3) 6
8.) Doniphan-Trumbull (11-5) 7
9.) Clarkson-Leigh (10-3) 8
10.) Battle Creek (12-5) 9
Class D-1
1.) Archbishop Bergan (17-2) 1
2.) Johnson-Brock (12-2) 2
3.) Humphrey-Lindsay HF (14-0) 3
4.) Nebraska Christian (11-2) 4
5.) Hartington-Newcastle (10-2) 5
6.) Pleasanton (17-2) 9
7.) Diller-Odell (11-4) 7
8.) Giltner (12-2) 6
9.) Lutheran High Northeast (13-5) 9
10.) Cambridge (11-3) NR
Class D-2
1.) BDS (12-1) 1
2.) Ewing (17-0) 2
3.) CWC (13-1) 3
4.) Exeter-Milligan (10-4) 5
5.) Kenesaw (9-7) NR
6.) Mullen (12-2) 4
7.) Falls City Sacred Heart (12-7) 7
8.) Red Cloud (10-5) 8
9.) Mead (9-5) 10
10.) Hampton (11-7) 9