East Bay Girls Volleyball Notebook
Matt Smith, contracostatimes.com - 11/2/2009
Girls Volleyball

With league’s wrapping with their last two matches or with league playoffs, the North Coast Section playoffs are on the horizon.

The NCS Division III playoffs will be very compelling, with five of the top nine teams in the Bay Area News Group’s East Bay volleyball rankings being D III teams.
Four of these five teams, along with a top flight D III team from Sonoma County were at the Northgate Tournament this week as Bishop O’Dowd, Miramonte, Campolindo, Moreau Catholic and Analy all took part.
And even though Analy won the tournament, topping Campolindo in the finals, it doesn’t necessarily make the Tigers the favorite. Analy has lost to Campolindo in a non-league match, and Analy has lost to Granada in tournament play. Miramonte has beat Campolindo twice and has beat Granada. Campolindo, however, exacted a little revenge and beat the Matadors in the semifinals at Northgate on Saturday.
Got that straight?
Then you throw in top-ranked Bishop O’Dowd, who lost to Analy in the semifinals. The Dragons have split with Campolindo this year, haven’t played Miramonte but have some very impressive wins over St. Mary’-Stockton, Sacred Heart Cathedral and St. Francis-Sacramento.
“Division III is loaded with talent,” Bishop O’Dowd coach Mike Gee said. “Things are always changing. One week team A will beat team B, and the next it will be the other way around. I’m extremely excited for this year’s NCS. It’s going to make for a lot of great volleyball for everyone.”

Bishop O’Dowd ends the weekend at 29-8, and has to feel like it has a claim to the No. 1 seed.

But Miramonte, at 22-2, probably feels the same way.

“I think the final four teams at the Northgate Tournament will be the top four teams in Division III,” Miramonte coach Shannon Ross said. “It’s going to get very interesting because all four are great volleyball teams and only two can make it to the finals and move on to NorCal.”
Campolindo, led by coach Scott Bishop, may also have a claim to the top seed, and he knows that the four teams will end up seeded one through four, but in which order is anybody’s guess at this point.
A highly ranked Division III team, Albany, was at the Edison Tournament in Stockton and went 4-0, winning the tournament.
The Division I favorite, Amador Valley, won a pair of matches in East Bay Athletic League play last week to stay perfect, winning one of those against Division II hopeful Carondelet.
Northgate, another top D II team, went 3-1 at its own tournament.

Rankings

The Northgate Tournament made things a little difficult with the rankings this week, but I decided to leave them as is. Miramonte is 2-1 agaisnt Campolindo, so I didn’t think a shift was in order. The playoffs will sort it all out.
Carondelet is playing well, and creeps up to No. 5 as the Cougars have emerged as perhaps the team to beat in D II.

1. Bishop O’Dowd
2. Miramonte
3. Amador Valley
4. Campolindo
5. Carondelet
6. Granada
7. Foothill
8. Albany
9. Moreau Catholic
10. Northgate
11. Deer Valley
12. Mission San Jose
13. Washington
14. Piedmont
15. Berean Christian

Others considered: Irvington, St. Patrick-St. Vincent, Salesian, San Ramon Valley, California, Heritage, Liberty, Castro Valley, St. Mary’s, Berkeley.

League standings

Please send in updates if your record is incorrect.

ACCAL
Team League GB
Berkeley 11-0 -
Alameda 9-1 1.5
El Cerrito 8-3 3
De Anza 3-7 7.5
Pinole Valley 2-8 8.5
Hercules 2-8 8.5
Richmond 0-11 11

BSAL
Team League GB
Albany 17-1 -
St. Patrick-St. Vincent 14-4 3
Piedmont 14-4 3
Salesian 13-5 4
St. Mary’s 12-6 5
St. Joseph Notre Dame 7-11 10
Encinal 5-13 12
Holy Names 4-14 13
Swett 3-15 14
Kennedy-R 0-18 17

BVAL
Team League GB
Deer Valley 13-0 -
Liberty 9-4 4
Heritage 9-4 4
Freedom 5-8 8
Antioch 3-10 10
Pittsburg 0-13 13

DFAL
Team League GB
Miramonte 10-0 -
Campolindo 9-2 1.5
Acalanes 6-4 4
Las Lomas 6-4 4
Dublin 3-8 7.5
Dougherty Valley 2-8 8
Alhambra 0-10 10

DVAL
Team League GB
Northgate 9-1 -
Berean Christian 9-1 -
Concord 7-4 2.5
Clayton Valley 6-4 3
College Park 3-7 6
Ygnacio Valley 1-8 7.5
Mt. Diablo 0-10 9

EBAL
Team League GB
Amador Valley 12-0 -
Granada 10-2 2
Carondelet 8-4 4
Foothill 7-5 5
California 5-7 7
San Ramon Valley 4-8 8
Monte Vista 2-10 10
Livermore 0-12 12

HAAL
Team League GB
Bishop O’Dowd 12-0 -
Moreau Catholic 10-2 2
Castro Valley 8-4 4
San Leandro 8-4 4
Arroyo 6-6 6
Hayward 4-8 8
Tennyson 0-8 10
San Lorenzo 0-8 10
Mt. Eden 0-8 10

MVAL
Team League GB
Washington 10-2 -
Mission San Jose 10-2 -
Irvington 9-3 1
Logan 7-5 3
Newark Memorial 3-9 7
American 3-9 7
Kennedy-F 0-12 10