MaxPreps updated its volleyball rankings on Monday morning. There was good news and bad news for Orange and Cedar Ridge.
The good news is both teams moved up after winning matches last week. The bad news is, if the season ended today, both teams would be on the road for the opening round.
Before we go any further, I’d like to thank Nick Stevens of highschoolot.com, who has answered various questions from me regarding seeding. And there are plenty of questions. If you have questions about the seeding system, Nick does a great job of answering them here.
There are 18 (Montgomery County is the only 3A team in the Rocky River Conference, which they share with five 2A teams) conferences with 3A teams in North Carolina. Among 3A teams, Cedar Ridge has a MaxPreps ranking of #17. That’s higher than eight teams currently leading their league, and higher than 13 teams currently in second place (or tied for first) in their respective league.
Orange’s MaxPreps ranking is #22, which is up two notches from last week after they defeated Cedar Ridge and Northwood.
Keep in mind, these projections are not final. Some conferences have conference tournaments next week. Plus, there are a huge week of games still ahead. However, the Big 8 Conference will not have a conference tournament.
With that in mind, if the season ended today Cedar Ridge would earn a #18seed and travel to #15 Cape Fear in the opening round. Like such much of this, the field of 32 in the East could change with one match. Cape Fear is currently tied with Terry Sanford for 2nd place in the Patriot Athletic Conference. The Colts and the Bulldogs split their regular season series. If they finish tied, they will break the tie in the Patriot Athletic Conference Tournament.
The winner of Cape Fear-Cedar Ridge would face either 2nd seeded Chapel Hill or Triton. Of course, Cedar Ridge split the season series with the Tigers, who have reached the Final Four of the 3A State Tournament each of the past three years.
Orange will also travel. The Lady Panthers earn a #20 seed and would face Clayton. The winner of Orange-Clayton would face Person or Northern Guilford. Of course, the Panthers split the season series with the Rockets in August.
Again, this could all easily change. Topsail and New Hanover are the top 3A teams from the Mideastern 4A/3A Conference. They split the season series against each other. If they finish tied, they will break the tie in the Mideastern Conference Tournament.
Another note: Northwood faces Vance County on Tuesday night. It’s a must win for the Chargers. They can’t get into the state playoffs if they finish behind Vance County in the Big 8 standings.
Here’s a look at My Best Guess for the 3A State Volleyball Projections.
EAST
1. D.H. Conley
32. White Oak
16. Southern Lee
17. Western Alamance
8. Franklinton
25. Terry Sanford
9. Jacksonville
24. C.B. Aycock
/
5. Topsail
28. E.E. Smith
12. Wilson Hunt
21. New Hanover
13. Clayton
20. Orange
4. Person
29. Northern Guilford
3. Gray’s Creek
30. Northwood
14. West Carteret
19. J.H. Rose
6. Cleveland
27. Northern Durham
11. Asheboro
22. Southern Alamance
/
7. Union Pines
26. West Johnston
10. East Chapel Hill
23. South Johnston
15. Cape Fear
18. Cedar Ridge
2. Chapel Hill
31. Triton