By Christine Jinbo

In the Illinois post season, it will be a Normal battle... that is, a Normal Super-Sectional battle.   No. 12 Benet Academy (Lisle), No. 28 Naperville Central and No. 47 Naperville North all line up in the top half of the same bracket.  No. 5 Mother McAuley (Chicago) sits alone in the Palos Heights Super-Sectional and No. 36 St. Charles East (St. Charles) will contend with Wheaton Warrenville South (Wheaton) at the Elgin Super-Sectional.

The California regular season is winding to a close with final league games finishing in early November.  The Golden State is one of the last in the nation to finish its post season.  Regional playoffs extend through November and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Finals conclude on December 6.

Teams throughout the state took advantage of open weekends at the end of their schedules for tournament competition, the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions last weekend and the upcoming Redondo Power Classic.  In what could be a preview to (and a replay of) the CIF Div. II State title game, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) squared off against Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) in the finals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.  The Monarchs took home the title as they defeated the Mustangs in a four game shootout.  Six-foot junior Rachel Williams was awarded the tournament MVP for her powerful offense and stellar defensive play. 

	Leonard Xu/ESPN RISE
	Caitlin Racich performed well for Dos Pueblos

Long Beach Wilson defeated Dos Pueblos (Goleta) for third place as Stanford and UCLA coaches looked on from the stands.  Despite the powerful hitting from Dos Pueblos' 6-foot senior Caitlin Racich and 6-foot-2 junior Carly Wopat, the Bruins may have found a lucky lineup as they defeated the Chargers 3-1.  The Bruins were led by the outstanding play of senior middle blocker Amanda Pachaco.

Indiana begins its 37th Annual State Tournament Series with regional play on November 1.  The bracket favors No. 10 Muncie Central (Muncie), who received the No. 1 seed. No. 16 Indianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis), No. 30 Avon, and No. 43 Elkhart Memorial all find themselves on the bottom half of the bracket and will knock each other out en route to an eventual finals match up with Central.

Ohio finds itself in a similar conundrum as undefeated No. 20 Olmsted Falls sits in the top half of the bracket, while undefeated No. 13 Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati) will need to get past either No. 37 Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati) or No. 45 Mother of Mercy (Cincinnati) before a finals showdown with Olmsted Falls.

Kentucky High School Volleyball Association (KHSAA) begins its state tournament this Friday on Halloween.  The brackets, separated by region will pit No. 3 Mercy (Louisville) against No. 27 Notre Dame (Covington) in the quarterfinals.  If Mercy succeeds, it could face No. 15 Sacred Heart (Louisville) in the championship game.  Surprise of the tournament is the absence of No. 29 Assumption (Louisville), which fell to Sacred Heart twice at the end of the regular season, in the 24th District Championship and in the 7th Region Championship.    

 

ESPN RISE Girls Volleyball National FAB 50

Games through the week of October 25, 2008. Previous rank in parenthesis.

Rank     Team    Record  
1    (1)    La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.)    22-0
2    (2)    Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)    32-1

	Leonard Xu/ESPN RISE
	Tournament of Champions MVP, Rachel Williams

3    (3)    Mercy (Louisville, Kent.)    34-1
4    (4)    Reagan (San Antonio, Tex.)    39-2
5    (6)    Mother McAuley (Chicago, Ill.)    32-2
6    (7)    O'Connor (San Antonio, Tex.)    34-3
7    (5)    Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)    21-4
8    (9)    Joliet Catholic (Chicago, Ill.)    32-3
9    (8)    St. James (Lenexa, Kan.)    40-1
10    (10)    Muncie Central (Muncie, Ind.)    34-2
11    (12)    Churchill (San Antonio, Tex.)    36-4
12    (11)    Benet  (Lisle, Ill.)    34-1
13    (13)    Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio)    25-0
14    (15)    Amarillo (Amarillo, Tex.)    39-3
15    (18)    Sacred Heart Academy (Louisville, Kent.)    26-9
16    (25)    Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.)     32-4
17    (16)    Papillion La Vista (Papillion, Neb.)    33-1
18    (14)    Long Beach Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.)    22-3
19    (17)    Dos Pueblos (Goleta, Calif.)    22-4
20    (26)    Olmsted Falls (Olmsted Falls, Ohio)    25-0
21    (20)    Clear Creek (Houston, Tex.)    34-4
22    (21)    Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, Calif.)    17-5
23    (24)    Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.)    23-0
24    (28)    Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.)    28-0
25    (41)    Goddard (Goddard, Kan.)    38-1
26    (19)    Redlands East Valley (Temecula, Calif.)    27-1
27    (32)    Notre Dame (Covington, Ky.)    28-4
28    (22)    Naperville Central (Naperville, Ill.)    30-5
29    (23)    Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)    30-7
30    (NR)    Avon (Avon, Ind.)    34-1
31    (39)    Grand Island (Grand Island, Neb.)    27-1
32    (NR)    Timber Creek (Orlando, Fla.)    25-1

	Leonard Xu/ESPN RISE
	NIKE Challenge MVP, Kelly Griffi

33    (34)    Marian (Omaha, Neb.)    29-5
34    (31)    Berkley Prep (Tampa, Fla.)    22-2
35    (30)    Lee's Summit West (Lee's Summit, Mo.)    28-1
36    (33)    St. Charles East (St. Charles. Ill.)    31-4
37    (35)    Mount Notre Dame Academy  (Cincinnati, Ohio)    21-4
38    (36)    Lake Highlands (Dallas, Tex.)    34-2
39    (37)    Delta (Muncie, Ind.)    29-6
40    (38)    Plant (Tampa, Fla.)    20-5
41    (44)    Shakopee (Minn.)    26-2
42    (27)    Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)    15-6
43    (NR)    Elkhart Memorial (Elkhart, Ind.)    34-1
44    (29)    Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)    22-3
45    (45)    Mother of Mercy (Cincinnati, Ohio)    20-5
46    (NR)    St Michael-Albertville (Albertville, Minn.)      26-2
47    (47)    Naperville North (Naperville, Ill.)    31-4
48    (48)    Torrey Pines (Torrey Pines, Calif.)    17-8
49    (49)    Blue Springs (Blue Springs, Mo.)    24-3
50    (50)    Muncie Burris (Muncie, Ind.)    32-4