The Texas Top 20

By Scott White, Editor

September 14 – To put it in timely terms, last week was like being in the eye of a hurricane. After a month of whirlwind activity, things really calmed down. But the settling down may only be temporary. More stormy weather is brewing just beyond the horizon.

Last week was so uneventful that the top six teams went 33-0 in games. In fact, you had to go all the way to Arlington Lamar at #7 to find a team that lost a single game. And you had to go all the way to Kingwood at #11 to find a team that lost a match.

As a result there was not a lot of movement in the week's rankings. This week should be more of the same. Tonight Plano West, a program on the rise, tries to begin the process of unseating Allen from its almost decade-long dominance of the northeast Dallas corridor. In Central Texas, Boerne and Lake Travis meet in a battle of two of the state's premier 4A programs. Out West, El Paso Americas travels to Franklin with a chance to prove it's the real deal. And on Friday, Cy Creek starts a brutal streak in which they meet Cy Springs, Cy Fair and Cy Falls in consecutive matches.

In general, however, the state's powers should move through the next week with relative ease. After that, however, the winds of turmoil start brewing again.

So as we all take a bit of a breather, here is our ranking of the 20 best high school volleyball teams in Texas.

1. Churchill (1)
Ho...Last week's victims included Smithson Valley and Holmes. This week the Chargers try not to look past Roosevelt and Madison to three straight challenges against Judson, MacArthur and Reagan.

2. Austin Westlake (2)
Hum...Crockett and Judson were the latest victims as the Chaps wait patiently for Churchill to slip up. Hays should get plenty of the Chaps' attention on Friday.

3. SA Clark (3)
Taft and Smithson Valley became the lastest victims.

4. Cy Creek (4)
Has little time to rest in a loaded district. Next two weeks will tell a lot about this team.

5. Amarillo (5)
The Sandies rolled over River Road, Hereford and Randall, giving up over 20 points only once in nine games.

6. Lubbock Coronado (6)
Outscored Seminole and Abilene 75-56 in a couple of sweeps.

7. Arlington Lamar (7)
Biggest challenge this week will be to keep from looking ahead to next Tuesday night's showdown with Martin.

8. Arlington Martin (8)
Won't be looking ahead to upcoming Lamar match since bitter rival Arlington is on the schedule this week (Friday).

9. Houston Stratford (9)
Impressive sweep of Dobie may be an indication that this team is starting to live up to advance billing.

10. Cy Falls (10)
Swept through Klein, Tomball, Cypress Ridge and A&M Consolidated without losing a single game.

11. Lake Highlands (12)
Breezed past Richardson Pearce and Greenhill. Cruise control time until the playoffs near.

12. Dulles (13)
Impressive win over FB Austin is just the latest in a string of notable wins.

13. Katy (17)
Played only one match over the week, but it was a big one - five set win over Kingwood.

14. Kingwood (11)
Rebounded from bitter five-game loss to Katy on Tuesday by winning its own tournament and beating Dobie and Deer Park, among others, in the process.

15. Dobie (14)
A busy week with wins over Humble, Jersey Village, Cy Springs and Deer Park. Losses came against Kingwood and Stratford, two teams ranked higher.

16. Allen (15)
Vulnerable team wearing a target as Plano West (tonight) and East (next Friday) try to knock the Eagles off the district throne they have owned for years.

17. Cedar Park (16)
Had the brooms out for sweeps of Georgetown and McCallum.

18. Deer Park (19)
A tough schedule takes its toll with losses to Dobie, Cy Falls and Kingwood over the weekend. Finished .500 for the week with wins over Spring Westfield, Pearland and Friendswood.

19. FB Austin (20)
Beat a very solid Kempner squad. Loss to Dulles was not unexpected.

20. San Antonio Reagan (NR)
Continued to turn things around with two solid wins over MacArthur and New Braunfels.

Teams To Watch

Austin Bowie – picked up wins over Hays and McNeil.

Dripping Springs - Team is building steam with impressive championship of the Rebel Bash. Loss to Westwood keeps them out of the rankings.

Elkins – Wins over Bush and Clements were solid, but this team will have to put together a few more solid weeks before earning a spot back in the rankings.

El Paso Americas - Wins over Montwood and Hanks were nice. A win over Franklin tonight will prove whether they are the best of the far west.

Hays - Had wins over St. Michael's, Poth and Luling. Lost to Lake Travis.

Hebron - On the verge of breaking into the rankings. Team rolled on with wins over Justin Northwest and Lake Dallas.

Lake Travis - Was on a roll with wins over Manor, Columbus, Leander, Stony Point and Hays. Then blew a big lead in game five of the Rebel Bash finals against Dripping Springs.

New Braunfels - Loss to San Antonio Reagan drops the Unicorns from the rankings.

Plano West – A team to keep an eye on. Beat Flower Mound and Euless Trinity last week. Tonight comes a chance to make a statewide statement against Allen.

Round Rock - One match. One win - a five-gamer over Westwood.

Waxahachie – Impressive week with wins over Cleburne, Mesquite Horn and Crandall.

Westwood - After a win over Dripping Springs and taking Round Rock to the limit, we'll give this team a look.