JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4Jax Super 6 high school volleyball poll will be published each Thursday during the regular season. Records are through Sept. 22 games.
News4Jax Super 6
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Rank, School, Record, Classification
1. (1) Ponte Vedra (11-0, Class 6A)
Notable wins: Bartram Trail, Episcopal, Florida High, Middleburg, Ridgeview, St. Pius X Catholic, Santa Fe, Steinbrenner, Tampa Plant.
Why they’re here: The Sharks haven’t played since beating Ridgeview on Sept. 14. Their next clash comes Saturday in a pair of heavyweight showdowns. First, Ponte Vedra faces Santa Fe, a team they edged 2-1 at the Nike tournament earlier this month. Next is a 10-2 Merritt Island squad. The Sharks are ranked third in the country by MaxPreps and first in Florida. Santa Fe is fourth in the state; Merritt Island is 77th.
2. (3) Mandarin (15-1, Class 7A)
Notable wins: Bartram Trail, Creekside, Fernandina Beach, Fletcher (twice), Master’s Academy, Ridgeview, Yulee.
Why they’re here: The JJVA River City Classic was good for the Mustangs. Mandarin went 3-1 on the court, beating Fernandina Beach, Master’s Academy and Tallahassee Lincoln. It dropped its first match of the season to a strong Tallahassee Chiles squad. They returned to regular season play this week and swept Creekside. Ellie Jackson (168 kills) and Alani Salas-Garcia (106 kills) lead at the net. Taylor Boyd (211 assists) and Grace Hollis (201 assists) are running the offense very well. Libero Mia Watson, Boyd and Jackson all reached milestones in the win over Creekside, with Boyd hitting 500 career digs, Watson going past 600 career assists and Jackson eclipsing 600 career kills.
3. (6) Bartram Trail (8-4, Class 7A)
Notable wins: Bishop Kenny, Creekside, Episcopal, Fletcher, Northside, Ga., Sneads, Thomasville, Ga.
Why they’re here: Excellent week of work for the Bears. They beat a 17-4 Thomasville and a 19-8 Northside (both from Georgia), and a 9-7 Sneads all in sweeps. They dropped a 2-0 game to a solid Gulf Breeze squad but surged back this week to sweep previous No. 2 Bishop Kenny. They’ll try and pull a regular season sweep of Creekside on Tuesday. The Bears now have two players with triple-digit kills this season, Jenna Otts (149 kills) and Lauren Marien (128 kills). Lainie Stapleton tops the team in blocks (25). Sydney Lewis (140 digs) and Morgan Langley (124 digs) pace the defense. Annie Dill (320 assists) added nearly 100 assists to her total over the past week.
4. (2) Bishop Kenny (9-5, Class 4A)
Notable wins: Bolles, Fernandina Beach, Providence, Yulee.
Why they’re here: The Crusaders went 1-1 since our last Super 6, a 3-0 of Middleburg and a sweep at the hands of Bartram Trail, somewhat of a surprising result. But not much reason to drop the Crusaders too far in the Super 6. Allison Cavanaugh (153 kills) and Bailey Chin (138 kills, 104 digs) continue to power Kenny at the net. Tina Nika (245 digs) and Alexis Chin (425 assists) lead the way in those categories.
5. (4) Providence (14-4, Class 3A)
Notable wins: Aiken (SC), Christ’s Church, Episcopal, Fernandina Beach, Gray Collegiate (SC), Satellite, Trinity Christian, Yulee.
Why they’re here: A 4-2 week for the Stallions. They swept Fernandina Beach, Fleming Island, Satellite and Covenant. They lost to Keystone Heights and Tallahassee Lincoln. Robinson Repass (186 kills, 35 blocks) is closing in on the 200-kill mark. Kayla Burmeister leads the team in service aces (38) and is approaching 200 assists. Josie Brooks (137) and Kamryn Croft (110) give the Stallions three players with triple-digit kills this season. Lexi Patania (137 digs) and Emily Collings (268 assists) add to the strength of this team.
6. (NR) Creekside (10-3, Class 7A)
Notable wins: Bishop Snyder, East River, Gainesville, Mainland, Providence, Ridgeview.
Why they’re here: This was a tough call this week, with obvious flaws for each serious contender for the final spot in the Super 6. I opted for the Knights, who had won eight straight until a loss against No. 2 Mandarin on Tuesday night. They had solid Ws over East River, Gainesville and Mandarin to wrap up JJVA tournament play. Izzy Collier leads a balanced Creekside team at the net (95 kills, 35 blocks). Tyler Patterson (256 assists, 31 aces) and Vivi Vasquez (198 digs) lead the way in those three categories. The Knights get the edge this week over — in this order — Trinity Christian, Episcopal, Ridgeview and a pair of hot Nassau County teams (Fernandina Beach and Yulee).
Dropped out
Trinity Christian (9-4, Class 3A).
On the bubble
Bolles (7-3, Class 4A); Christ’s Church (8-4, Class 2A); Creekside (10-3, Class 7A); Episcopal (9-4, Class 3A); Fernandina Beach (7-6, Class 4A); Fletcher (6-5, Class 6A); Keystone Heights (9-6, Class 3A); Middleburg (8-5, Class 5A); Nease (10-4, Class 6A); Ridgeview (9-5, Class 5A); St. Johns Country Day (8-2, Class 2A); University Christian (9-4, Class 2A); Yulee (9-7, Class 4A).