The Texas Top 20

By Scott White
Editor

Sept. 27 — I would like to personally thank Houston for keeping us entertained.

Otherwise, I could have taken the week off and reprinted last week's rankings. But as we have come to expect, just when you think you have Houston figured out....you don't.

How else do you explain Cy Springs, a team that has not come close to preseason expectations, beating Cy Creek, a team that seemed to be peaking at just the right time? The most obvious explanation is that we are talking about the "district of death." You can also use that as the explanation for Langham Creek's shocking five-game win over Cy Falls.

As the district enters the second round of action, Cy Creek sits at 6-1 and three teams (Cy Falls, Langham Creek and Cy-Fair) are at 6-2. Of course that could all change by tomorrow since Cy Falls faces Cy Creek tonight.

And then there is District 20-5A where Dulles and Elkins, both 7-0 in district, square off tonight. As one of our regular contributors wrote, it should be a "five-game thriller." Which (being Houston), means one of the teams will probably sweep.

And if that doesn't have your head spinning, how about District 19-5A where Katy and Cinco Ranch, a team on the rise, also meet tonight in a battle of district undefeated teams.

All of which means that we can count on Houston to keep things interesting for yet another week. Until then, here is our ranking of the 20 best high school volleyball teams in Texas (last week’s ranking is in parenthesis).

1. Churchill (1)
Picked up a couple of impressive wins against sound competition - MacArthur and Judson. Tonight comes probably the toughest challenge in weeks, a district battle with Reagan.

2. Austin Westlake (2)
Bowie had the potential to cause the Chaps trouble. They didn't.

3. SA Clark (3)
O'Connor had the potential to cause the champs trouble. They didn't.

4. Amarillo (5)
If not for concern over loss of Teal Clark to a knee injury, it would have been a ho-hum week as the Sandies await first district showdown with Lubbock Coronado.

5. Lubbock Coronado (6)
Hasn't lost since Duncanville and is working on a 20+ win streak as they await first district showdown with Amarillo.

6. Arlington Martin (8)
The Warriors taught Arlington Lamar a lesson - a champion doesn't give up its district throne without a fight. Round two comes Oct. 19.

7. Arlington Lamar (7)
Despite falling down 2-0 Martin, Lamar made a fight of it by rebounding impressively in the next two games. But coming close does not win the cigar. The team had a scare when Lindsey Peterson crashed into the standards late in the Martin match. Peterson sat out Friday's match as a precautionary measure, but the bruised ankle and calf is OK and she's ready for action.

8. Dulles (11)
The Vikings now take over the position as the top-ranked team in Houston. That hasn't been a good place to be this season, especially with tonight's Elkins showdown looming.

9. Cy Creek (4)
Nothing comes easy in District 17-5A. The surprising Upset loss to Cy Springs in five (17-15) says more about what could have been for Springs, which has not lived up to preseason billing, than it does about Creek.

10. Lake Highlands (10)
Almost got caught sleeping (understandable at this time of the season). Had to rally from 2-0 deficit then hold on in game five (15-13) against Richardson????

11. Katy (12)
Rival Katy Taylor didn't go down easy, but when the dust settled it was another perfect week for the Tigers.

12. Houston Stratford (13)
Spartans were also perfect (in games and matches).

13. Kingwood (14)
Had the brooms out for matches with Memorial and Sterling.

14. Dobie (15)
An easy week as the Longhorns grazed on Pasadena and LaPorte.

15. Cedar Park (16)
These guys (or gals) proved they are for real by winning six of seven games against two solid teams - Round Rock and Westwood.

16. Cy Falls (9)
It was close and it went five games (15-13), but the loss to Langham Creek was costly for the Eagles.

17. Deer Park (17)
The Deer gave up only 53 points in six games. Our daughter is a math major and she says that's less than 9 points per game. We're not math majors, but we know that's pretty impressive.

18. FB Austin (18)
Swept Bush and blasted Willowridge. This could be a dangerous team come playoff time.

19. San Antonio Reagan (19)
Held Roosevelt and Smithson Valley under 20 points in all six games as the Rattlers geared up for tonight's showdown with Churchill.

20. Waxahachie (20)
State's top-ranked 4A team rolls on with sweeps of Everman and Midlothian.

Teams To Watch

Allen - Win over Plano East team (which had beaten them earlier in the season) put the Eagles back on track after loss to Plano West.

Austin Bowie - Lost to Westlake. But then again, who hasn't.

Boerne - Beware the Boerne. Sweep of Lake Travis earlier this month seems to have them back on track.

Cy Fair - Beat Langham Creek (a team that shocked Cy Falls later in the week) and lost to Cy Creek.

Dripping Springs - Time in the penalty box for losing to Poth has now been served. Win over Lake Travis (second this season) also helps.

Dumas - A ho-hum week against Caprock and Palo Duro.

Elkins - One match. One win (over Hightower).

El Paso Eastwood - Takes over the top spot in El Paso after rebounding from sound thumping in first game against Americas to win three straight. This team has steadily improved since early season struggles at Duncanville.

Hebron - Just passing time until they get a chance to gain revenge for losses to Waxahachie and Dripping Springs. They won't get Waxahachie until a couple of rounds into the playoffs. The rematch with Dripping Springs would have to take place in San Marcos.

Lake Travis - Tough decision to let them back in, but we're willing to give LT another chance after five-game win over New Braunfels and drama-filled five-game loss to Dripping Springs.

Plano West - Had a bit of a struggle in 3-1 win over rival Plano High. Otherwise, it was an uneventful week.

Round Rock - Loss to Cedar Park shows the Dragons still have a way to go.

Westwood - (See Round Rock)