High school girls volleyball rankings, Oct. 29, 2024: Bay Area News Group Top 15

Bay Area News Group girls volleyball Top 15

(Mercury News & East Bay Times)

No. 1 ARCHBISHOP MITTY

Previous ranking: 1

The Monarchs are poised for the conclusion of their regular season after sweeping Presentation and Valley Christian last week. They face Sacred Heart Cathedral on Wednesday.

No. 2 ST. FRANCIS

Previous ranking: 2

St. Francis also had a successful week, beating Sacred Heart Cathedral 3-1 and sweeping Valley Christian in West Catholic Athletic League play. The Lancers, also getting ready for Central Coast Section play, face Archbishop Riordan on Wednesday.

No. 3 JAMES LOGAN

Previous ranking: 3

It’s playoff time for James Logan, which finished the year undefeated in league play with sweeps of Moreau Catholic and Washington-Fremont. Third-seeded Logan takes on sixth-seeded Carondelet on Wednesday in the first round of the North Coast Section Open Division tournament.

No. 4 ST. IGNATIUS

Previous ranking: 4

Another WCAL team poised for a CCS run, the Wildcats swept Riordan and SHC last week and Lowell on Monday. The Cats finished the regular season 20-12 (8-4 WCAL) and await their postseason seeding.

No. 5 FOOTHILL

Previous ranking: 7

The victors of the East Bay Athletic League tournament championship slide up to No. 5. Foothill took down San Ramon Valley in a tightly contested 3-2 finals matchup to claim the top spot in the EBAL. Foothill, seeded No. 4 in the NCS Open Division bracket, next takes on North Bay power No. 5 Redwood in a home quarterfinal matchup.

No. 6 SAN RAMON VALLEY

Previous ranking: 5

SRV, which secured the top seed in the EBAL tournament with a 3-1 win over Monte Vista, made quick work of surging Amador Valley with a sweep in the semifinals. But in the league title match, Foothill got the best of the Wolves, avenging a 3-2 loss from the regular season. SRV slid out of the NCS Open Division bracket altogether and is the top seed in the NCS Division I tournament. The Wolves await the winner of No. 8 Las Lomas and No. 9 Castro Valley in the Division I quarterfinals on Saturday.

No. 7 CARONDELET

Previous ranking: 6

Carondelet swept California 3-0 but lost 3-2 to Foothill to bow out of the EBAL championship race in the league semifinals. The Cougars will get a chance for redemption in their Open Division first-round matchup with James Logan.

No. 8 PALO ALTO

Previous ranking: 9

Palo Alto slides ahead of Los Gatos after a 3-2 win over the Wildcats last week. The Vikings now hold sole possession of first place in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division after also beating Monta Vista (3-1) and Los Altos (3-1).

No. 9 LOS GATOS

Previous ranking: 8

The Cats are solidly in second place in their league despite losing to Palo Alto and should be positioned for a solid seed in CCS play. Los Gatos picked up a league sweep of Gunn and a 3-1 win over Monta Vista to round out its postseason resume.

No. 10 AMADOR VALLEY

Previous ranking: 10

Was Amador Valley’s run a mirage, or are the Dons equipped to do some serious damage in the NCS Division I bracket? We’ll find out this week. AV closed out the regular season with a 3-1 loss to Foothill, then fell 3-0 to SRV in the EBAL semifinals. On the strength of their strong close to the regular season, which included a 3-2 win over SRV and a sweep of Carondelet, the Dons were seeded fifth in the NCS D-I bracket. They face No. 12 Petaluma on Tuesday at home.

No. 11 MENLO-ATHERTON

Previous ranking: 11

M-A has been on a roll lately, sweeping six matches in a row, most recently against Carlmont and Hillsdale last week. The Bears finish the regular season against Aragon on Tuesday.

No. 12 MERCY

Previous ranking: 13

Mercy continues to establish itself as one of the most impressive teams in the Bay Area late in the regular season. The Bears are now 7-0 and alone atop the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division after a 3-1 win over Sacred Heart Prep and a sweep of Notre Dame-Belmont. Mercy gets the Gators again on Wednesday to close out the regular season.

No. 13 SACRED HEART PREP

Previous ranking: 15

Speaking of the Gators, they are still alive in the WBAL Foothill race and have a chance to make up ground in the race for CCS seeding. They close out the regular season against Notre Dame-San Jose on Tuesday and Mercy on Wednesday.

No. 14 BURLINGAME

Previous ranking: 12

The Panthers are chasing M-A in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division and have one more chance to add to their resume with a match against Sequoia on Tuesday.

No. 15 CAMPOLINDO

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Campolindo enters the rankings after winning the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division. The Cougars were seeded fourth in the NCS Division I tournament and will host No. 13 Berkeley on Tuesday.

Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

Teams, please update MaxPreps with results each week.