Monday Whiteboard: News and Notes 10/23

Rankings, Polls, and RPI!   Here is our look at the RPI computer rankings from the WIAA and the coaches' poll rankings from the WSVBCA.   As a reminder per the WIAA- "The RPI will be one tool utilized by the seeding committees to determine first round bracket pairings into the State Tournaments." That initial seeding can be extremely important, looking at last years seedings and results the 1B and 2B tournaments accurately determined the 1-4 seeds that all pushed into the semi-finals. In all the other divisions every 1-4 seed finished in the trophy round.   The lowest seeded champion was 7th seeded Graham-Kapowsin in 4A. If you watched G-K and Hailey Brockway play last season, that was not a shocking result. Brockway is now a freshman at Illinois State University, and she dominated every team she faced in the state tournament last season. Three close losses ( Curtis and Puyallup twice) in two weeks at the end of the regular season and playoffs dropped Graham-Kapowsin out of the top 1-4 seeds. They quickly found their mojo and Brockway killed the ball from everywhere, averaging 25 kills per match in four wins and hitting .351. It was an all-time performance on the State Tournament stage, and the Eagles obviously outplayed their seed.   All the top RPI teams continue to have an unblemished record, and remember only official matches count in the RPI computer rankings, tournaments are not taken into account. Here are the top teams in each class in the RPI compared to the rankings from the October 18th Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association:   4A: Coaches- Camas (3rd in RPI). RPI: Kennedy Catholic (5th in Coaches).   3A: Coaches & RPI- Lynwood.   2A: Coaches & RPI-Columbia River.   1A: Coaches-(tie) Cedar Park Christian (2nd RPI) & Cascade Christian (3rd RPI) . RPI: La Center (3rd in Coaches).   2B: Coaches & RPI- Adna.   1B: Coaches: Oakesdale (2nd RPI). RPI: Neah Bay (2nd in Coaches).   With the regular season winding down, RPI just keeps on cooking. Playoff matches count in the RPI, and we get the chance to see some teams meet prior to state and have an idea of where they might be placed in relationship to one another in the seedings. Many conferences like the GSL and MCC or the Sea-King will play a crossover, and teams that are the champion of their respective leagues may face off giving the seeding committee an evaluation of where they stand just prior to state.   The next WSVCA Rankings go live on the 25th of October, check out the rankings at <a href="https://www.wsvbca.com/">https://www.wsvbca.com/</a>. Coaches- the WSVCA needs you to vote in the rankings!   WELCOME TO THE PARTY!   The Toppenish Wildcats are having an outstanding season and the numbers give us a glance into why. The Wildcats are 24-2 overall, setter [player_tooltip player_id='266135' first='Naylanee' last='Strom'] leads the team with over 500 assists, including 46 in a 3-1 win over Zillah. Tatiana Camacho is swinging .440 out of the middle and a bunch of hose kills come off sweet passes from libero [player_tooltip player_id='161901' first='Angeles' last='Torres']. The signs were there during the club season as different players from Toppenish were playing well - collectively they will be a tough out in the 1A playoffs.    MATCHUPS TO WATCH THIS WEEK   UNDER REVIEW- LAST WEEK. Silas and Spanaway Lake matched up for the second time this season, and this time around the result was reversed with Silas taking a 3-1 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='259675' first='Ivy' last='Brown'] recently commited to Pacific in the West Coast Conference and the outside hitter put together a huge match with 30 kills on 59 swings hitting .407. Brown cut her errors from 19 in the first match-up to just 6, and the team improved their serve game, tallying 10 aces and 14 serve errors compared to 7 aces and 17 errors the first time around.     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/291EcdW1LTU?si=59r8Pb2kEF4QC2vU </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">IVY BROWN</figcaption></figure>   Two 4A Kingco division leaders will meet this week, Skyline and Northcreek are at the the top of the standings and will play at Skyline Tuesday. Skyline will need to bounce back from a tough 5 set loss to Eastlake, and [player_tooltip player_id='243691' first='Emma' last='Gutke'] will have to control the middle for the Spartans. The Jaguars are on a long winning streak, and have only dropped a few sets during the season. Middle [player_tooltip player_id='250047' first='Ena' last='Hadzikadunic'] will need to work hard to keep Gutke honest and give the talented North Creek attackers room to work.   Chelan and Cashmere will battle for the second time officially in the Caribou Trail League. Chelan had to make some adjustments at the beginning of the year but are rolling now. Josie Garfoot and Makayla Garfoot have provided steady play and senior leadership for the Goats. Cashmere will need big performances from attackers [player_tooltip player_id='445692' first='Rylie' last='Harnden'], a senior and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='461185' first='Macie' last='Smart']. Smart is one of 5(!) 9th graders on the varsity roster for the Bulldogs.   Mead vs. Mt. Spokane in the annual catfight is a must watch match for 3A fans in Eastern Washington. The venue will be full, as the two student bodies compete off the court while the teams battle inside the lines. The game will be at Mt. Spokane and it will be senior night for [player_tooltip player_id='246353' first='Jordyn' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='445202' first='Amanda' last='Moffatt'], [player_tooltip player_id='252593' first='Jillian' last='Davis'], Mia Bontrager and [player_tooltip player_id='446018' first='Tayleigh' last='Sebesta']. Mt. Spokane can only play spoiler to Mead having a perfect 9-0 conference record, along with the emotion and boost from the crowd, that could be enough to make the match a close one. 2025 OH [player_tooltip player_id='268057' first='Romy' last='Tyler'] has been a bellwether for Mead this season. When she is playing with confidence and swinging away, the Panthers can bury teams.     AVCA PLAYER OF THE WEEK- WASHINGTON WEEK 9   Every week the AVCA and MaxPreps award a player of the week to each state. To be eligible for the award, players (teams) must update their stats in MaxPreps. Check out the awards here, https://www.avca.org/award/2023-maxpreps-avca-girls-high-school-players-of-the-week-award-week-10/. [player_tooltip player_id='254819' first='Ashley' last='McMaster'] from Lake Washington is the week winner for Washington. The senior outside pounded down 27 kills in a critical match against rival Liberty, and is averaging 15 kills per match over haer last four. McMaster is headed to Puget Sound to compete for the Loggers next season, and she is versatile enough to play either pin position and has cranked up the power this school season. The Kangaroos are peaking at just the right team with playoffs coming up, McMaster and [player_tooltip player_id='266138' first='Georgia' last='Terrell'] form a powerful pair of attackers on the pins.    North Idaho Minute   The state tournament begins this week for Idaho schools, and the final eight include teams and players from North Idaho we have highlighted before. Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls enter the 5A tournament seeded #2 and #3 respectively, and essentially are playing at home with the championship held at Lake City High School. [player_tooltip player_id='554774' first='Lexi' last='Norisada'] has been an unheralded part of Post Falls success at libero, she plays with heart and intensity. Bailey Jaworski and [player_tooltip player_id='554779' first='Elizabeth' last='Hardy'] run the 6-2 as the setters for Coeur d'Alene. The two have combined for nearly 600 assists and 300 digs, and two wins over rival Post Falls this season. Lakeland has the #2 seed in the 4A bracket, senior setter Ella Terzulli is a terrific leader and a smart, competitive winner for the Hawks. Kellogg will be the #2 seed in 2A, the Wildcats rely on lefty senior Maddie Cheney to carry the load on offense.      The Prep Dig Washington Top 250 Expo: December 2nd, 2023   We are excited to bring Washington a Prep Dig Top 250 Expo Showcase this winter! Thank you to the Academy Sportscenter in Lynnwood for use of the awesome facility, we are grateful for the opportunity to play host to the athletes from all over the state there. Our December 2nd event slots in after the State Tournament and Thanksgiving, but before club tournaments fire up. Seniors; I encourage you to make a weekend of it and cap your high school career in the Showcase and play in the 2023 Senior All-State Volleyball Match the next day, December 3rd at Burlington-Edison High School.   For all the information on the Top 250 Expo follow this link: <a href="https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/">https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/</a>, The coverage will be extensive on social media and Prep Dig, the competition fun and fierce, and the coaches working the event knowledgeable. We have a discount code for you to use for $10 off EtterExpo2023.   ATTENTION CLUB COACHES: Please enter and personalize your club program on the site, when we add a player or a player sets their free profile they can choose the club and it will have all your social media contact information, logo, etc added.   Here is a link to the club program setup page: <a href="https://prepdig.com/create-your-program/">https://prepdig.com/create-your-program/</a>.

Rankings, Polls, and RPI!