Volleyball Rankings, Final (2006)

Six state champions head final rankings.

Class A

1. Bellevue West (43-1)

2. Grand Island (31-3)

3. Omaha Marian (31-10)

4. Millard North (29-7)

5. Papillion-La Vista (29-12)

6. Lincoln Southwest (23-12)

7. Lincoln North Star (25-11)

8. Omaha Burke (19-17)

9. Lincoln East (21-13)

10. Bellevue East (21-13)

Class B

1. Lincoln Pius X (34-4)

2. Omaha Gross (29-10)

3. Aurora (28-3)

4. Grand Island Northwest (28-8)

5. Elkhorn (22-12)

6. Norris (19-8)

7. Omaha Skutt (24-10)

8. Omaha Mercy (18-7)

9. Gretna (18-8)

10. Platteview (18-9)

Class C-1

1. Columbus Scotus (26-3)

2. Grand Island Central Catholic (30-3)

3. Norfolk Catholic (24-4)

4. Chase County (23-5)

5. Battle Creek (20-5)

6. Ord (20-5)

7. Minden (21-9)

8. Central City (16-7)

9. Hershey (18-8)

10. Columbus Lakeview (14-9)

Class C-2

1. Heartland (27-1)

2. West Point Central Catholic (24-5)

3. Kearney Catholic (23-6)

4. Ravenna (22-5)

5. Archbishop Bergan (26-6)

6. Howells (24-2)

7. Perkins County (18-9)

8. Southwest (24-4)

9. Cross County (20-5)

10. Alma (22-6)

Class D-1

1. Freeman (31-2)

2. Humphrey St. Francis (22-4)

3. Cambridge (22-7)

4. Mead (25-4)

5. Axtell (24-2)

6. Exeter-Milligan (23-5)

7. Leigh (18-6)

8. Ansley (24-4)

9. Bancroft-Rosalie (23-5)

10. Meridian (17-7)

Class D-2

1. Falls City Sacred Heart (20-11)

2. Sterling (20-10)

3. Ewing (25-3)

4. Chambers (25-4)

5. Paxton (21-3)

6. Elba (28-5)

7. Hampton (20-10)

8. Giltner (21-6)

9. McPherson County (24-2)

10. Shickley (22-6)

Class A

The only change is Omaha Burke trading spots with Lincoln East after Burke beat the Spartans in the district final. Omaha Marian retains its No. 3 spot even after a first-round loss to Papillion-La Vista at state. The Crusaders were a combined 5-2 against No. 4 Millard North and No. 5 Papillion-La Vista this season. They were 3-1 against Papillion-La Vista with all three wins coming in the final month of the season.

Class B

Two state-tournament results — Omaha Gross’ win over Aurora and Grand Island Northwest’s victory against Elkhorn — changed the ratings. Omaha Skutt is rewarded for its win over Elkhorn in the district final, but the SkyHawks can’t move past Norris because of losses to two unranked Class B teams (Beatrice and Schuyler) and the fact that Norris won the last head-to-head matchup between the teams. Platteview gets the nod at No. 10 over Ogallala because Platteview was undefeated against unranked teams this fall and Ogallala had three losses to unranked foes.

Class C-1

Despite a loss to Hershey in the district final, Chase County moves up five spots for a first-round win over Battle Creek at state and reaching the semifinals. Chase County was 3-1 this season against Hershey. Columbus Lakeview is the choice at No. 10 based on a 7-0 record vs. unranked C-1 teams, a 13-1 mark overall against teams outside the top 10 and a win over No. 8 Central City earlier in the season. North Bend Central, 24-3 and No. 5 in the final regular season ratings, fell to Bishop Neumann in the subdistrict tournament, a team Lakeview beat this fall. North Bend did not have a win over a top-10 school.

Class C-2

Heartland’s upset loss to Sutton in subdistricts is wiped off the slate by winning a state championship. Howells’ win over West Point Central Catholic was negated by a first-round loss at state to Archbishop Bergan. Thayer Central drops out after a loss to Malcolm in subdistricts. Perkins County’s win over Southwest in the district final and their close first-round encounter with WPCC brings Alma back into the top 10. Five of Alma’s six losses came to ranked teams with the other coming to Class B Cozad.

Class D-1

Humphrey St. Francis and Cambridge are both rewarded for strong state-tournament performances and pushing state champion Freeman to the limit. Leyton drops out after a subdistrict defeat to Potter-Dix. Meridian’s regular-season win over Lawrence-Nelson provided the tiebreaker in settling the No. 10 spot.

Class D-2

State champion Falls City Sacred Heart brought fellow Pioneer Conference member Sterling with it to the top of the ratings. Both teams played difficult schedules that were weighed heavily with C-2 and D-1 schools, something that worked to Sacred Heart‘s advantage in its run to the state championship. Just how good was the Pioneer Conference? Freeman and Sacred Heart won state titles, but C-2 Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer took the conference tournament championship. Sterling was the only D-2 team to beat Sacred Heart this season and vice versa.