State hopes still alive for most Houston elite

This is the week we find out who packs their bags for San Marcos and while we know that Pearland, a team with very high hopes a week ago will not be making the trip, there are still a number of Houston teams with excellent chances at earning a spot in the Final Four.

Pearland, of course, was bumped from the playoffs by Clear Lake last week. Tonight the rest of Houston's top teams will be trying to earn a berth in this weekend's region semifinals. And there are some great matches on the schedule, starting with a powerhouse doubleheader at G Rollie White Coliseum on the A&M campus where The Woodlands meets Round Rock at 6:30, followed by Cy Woods and Westwood at 8.

On the statewide level, in the match between the state's top two teams that everyone had been waiting for, San Antonio Reagan made it three in a row over previously top-ranked O'Connor last night. As had been the case in their previous two meetings, the power of Amber Tatsch and Preslie Alexander was simply too much for O'Connor's super defense to handle.

Tonight, San Marcos HS will be the site of another quarterfinal showdown between state powers when Churchill and Westlake square off at 7:30.

Reagan's win last night moves the Rattlers back into the LoneStarVolleyball.com #1 position, a spot they held briefly following their last win over O'connor in the finals at Pearland. So as we wait to find out who will be earning state tournament berths on Saturday, here is this week's LoneStarVolleyball ranking of the 20 best teams in Texas.

LoneStarVolleyball.com Texas Top 20

Rank. Team (Record) Last Week

1. San Antonio Reagan (44-2) 2 - defeated O'Connor Monday to advance to Region 4 semifinals on Friday

2. San Antonio O'Connor (38-4) 1 - season ended by San Antonio Reagan

3. Clear Creek (39-4) 3 - defeated FB Austin and Pasadena Memorial; plays Clear Lake tonight

4. San Antonio Churchill (39-5) 4 - defeated Austin and Warren; plays Westlake tonight

5. Amarillo (43-3) 5 - defeated El Paso Hanks and Arlington Lamar; plays Amarillo tonight

6. Westlake (36-7) 6 - defeated New Braunfels and SA Clark; plays Churchill tonight

7. Cy Woods (35-4) 8 - defeated Cedar Park and College Park; plays Westwood tonight

8. Round Rock (37-5) 9 - defeated Cy Falls and Klein Oak; plays The Woodlands tonight

9. Plano West (33-6) 10 - defeated Irving MacArthur and Coppell; plays Southlake Carroll tonight

10. Lake Highlands (42-4) 11 - swept Sachse Monday night to advance to Region 2 semifinals

11. The Woodlands (32-4) 12 - defeated Klein and Cy-Fair; plays Round Rock tonight

12. Hereford (40-3) 13 - defeated Big Spring and San Elizardio; plays Dumas tonight

13. Westwood (36-9) 14 - defeated Cy Creek and Tomball; plays Cy Woods tonight

14. Richardson Pearce (37-7) 15 - defeated Frisco Wakeland and Lincoln; plays Rockwall tonight

15. Highland Park (36-8) 17 - defeated Centennial and Hillcrest; plays Frisco Liberty tonight

16. Canyon Randall (38-3) 18 - defeated Plainview and El Paso Riverside; plays Frenship tonight

17. Steele (36-6) 19 - defeated Jefferson and Pflugerville Hendrickson; plays Hutto tonight

18. Red Oak (39-6) 20 - defeated Ennis and Longview; plays Midlothian tonight

19. Pearland (34-9) 7 - defeated Baytown Lee; season ended by Clear Lake

20. Smithson Valley (34-13) 16 - defeated Bowie; season ended by O'Connor

Posted by Scott White  at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)