JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX Varsity 4 Super 6 high school volleyball rankings will be published each Wednesday during the regular season. Records are through Aug. 26 games.
Varsity 4 News4JAX Super 6 volleyball rankings
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Rank, team, record, classification
1. Beachside (3-1, Class 5A)
Quality wins: Episcopal, South Walton.
Notable: The Barracudas are coming off their best season (19-4) and a trip to the third round of the playoffs. Their loss in the postseason came to the eventual state champion (Chiles). Those teams met again last week, and Chiles came away with a 3-1 win. Adriana Jeanpierre and Mollie VanDeusen were Varsity 4 All-News4JAX first-team selections last season. Erica Duffy was a second-teamer. Jayden Roberts had 105 kills last year. All those players are back and poised to help Beachside get over the regional hump.
2. Ponte Vedra (1-0, Class 5A)
Quality win: Bolles.
Notable: The Sharks were 15-6 last year and reached the second round of the 5A playoffs before running into eventual champ Chiles. They’ve got a good chunk of veteran experience in the lineup, including Avery Webb (second-team All-News4JAX) and honorable mentions Leah Grall and Lily Keely. Ellie Decker had 11 kills in the win over Bolles and Haydin Froehlich had 40 assists.
3. Bishop Kenny (3-0, Class 4A)
Quality wins: Creekside, Providence.
Notable: Kenny is a state semifinal machine. It got to the state semifinals for the fourth time in its last five seasons last year before a loss to Mater Lakes. The Crusaders have three state championships, including two under head coach Suzanne Winkler. This is a younger team than usual, with only libero Alexis Sowers returning among players who received Varsity 4 All-News4JAX honorable mention recognition. Sophomore Lilian Heldenbrand and senior Mattie Wilkey have combined for 44 kills to open the season for the Crusaders.
4. Providence (2-1, Class 2A)
Quality win: Trinity Christian.
Notable: Hitter Isabela Lopez, a second-team Varsity 4 All-News4JAX selection, returns to lead the Stallions. Also back is senior middle Julianna Baskin. High quality 3-0 of Trinity Christian is the headlining win this season.
5. Fleming Island (3-0, Class 5A)
Quality wins: Fletcher, Ridgeview.
Notable: Solid start for the Golden Eagles, who have been powered at the net by Lauren Brosky and Lillie Eason for a combined 60 kills. Setter Hazel Williams is coming off a season where she had a career high 528 assists. She has 65 in three matches to start the season.
6. Trinity Christian (2-1, Class 2A)
Quality wins: Middleburg, St. Augustine.
Notable: Difficult call on this spot. Had Harvest Community, Middleburg and Trinity Christian up for grabs and picked the Conquerors. They have a quality 3-1 win over the Broncos to start the season. Trinity did lose player of the year Mari King to graduation but they’ve got a slew of young players and transfers like Nova Hewlett (259 kills last year at Nease) and Emma Hernesman (559 assists, 208 digs at Nease) combining with returnees like Lily Simmons (432 assists last year) and Lily Vazquez (157 digs, 55 kills).
Teams to watch
Bishop Snyder (3-0, Class 2A); Bolles (2-1, Class 3A); Christ’s Church (4-0, Class 1A); Episcopal (1-1, Class 3A); Fletcher (3-1, Class 6A); Harvest Community (7-1, Class 1A); Mandarin (3-1, Class 7A); Middleburg (1-1, Class 5A); Ridgeview (2-1, Class 5A); Tocoi Creek (1-2, Class 6A).