The No. 1 seed for the Central Section volleyball playoffs should be on the line tonight when Buchanan, top-ranked by The Bee in a poll put together by section coaches, plays at No. 2 Clovis West in a Tri-River Athletic Conference match.
At least that's what Golden Eagles coach Rhonda DeRuiter believes.
"Whoever wins this match should get No. 1 and whoever loses should get No. 2," DeRuiter said. "With the schedules [Buchanan and Clovis West] put together and the teams we have played and how they rank nationally, we should be considered the top two teams in the section."
It's hard to argue DeRuiter's logic.
The top three teams in the section appear to be Buchanan, Clovis West and Centennial. The Bears hold the head-to-head -- at least so far -- over the Golden Eagles after a 21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 victory Oct. 8.
Both the Bears (20-3) and Golden Eagles (27-9) have been battle tested at premier tournaments, with Buchanan winning the Clovis Invitational and competing in the Durango Invitational in Las Vegas, where it suffered its only two losses of the season.
Eight of Clovis West's nine losses have come against national-class competition at the Durango Invite, Spikefest in Milpitas and the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix.
Centennial (22-2) hasn't played either of the Clovis schools, but against a common opponent -- Huntington Beach of the Southern Section, the Golden Hawks lost 25-22, 25-23 while the Golden Eagles won 25-23, 25-22, 28-26.
To clear up any misconception among coaches, Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow confirmed Monday that seedings for the playoffs would be done as normal, with Crichlow and the three area commissions hammering out the brackets.
A rumor was floating around that the rankings on maxpreps.com would be used to determine playoff seeds. Crichlow said maxpreps.com is just one of several resources used to set the brackets, which will be announced Nov. 7.
Leave a comment