vballrecruiter.com presents its final 18s Top 50 National Rankings. There are lots of factors to take into consideration when formulating a list like this. It leaves plenty of room for debate as these rankings are ultimately subjective.

There are power league results, qualifier results, national tournaments like Triple Crown and of course the USAV Girls Junior Nationals 18s and AAU national championships. All these come into play. We put more weight on what happened in Phoenix than a qualifier in January because the whole season is built toward peaking at JN’s. We also had one steadfast rule we didn’t break no matter the circumstances. That rule was if Team A defeated Team B in a gold challenge match or gold bracket match at JN’s, Team A is always going to be ranked ahead of Team B. That’s because everyone comes to JN’s to win a gold medal and if Team A eliminates Team B from contention, it won at the absolute right time. It can make for some skewed overall rankings but what’s the point if the biggest head-to-head matches of the season aren’t the most important ones?

The Top 25 teams have comments to hopefully give some insight as to why they are ranked where they are. A select few from 26-50 have comments as well but not all. There was only one minor change to the rankings after taking into consideration results from AAU. That was switching around Munciana 18 Samurai and SPVB 18 Elite after Munciana defeated SPVB in the 18 Open final at AAU in Orlando. With Munciana winning AAU, there was consideration whether or not Munciana should replace Sunshine in the No. 1 spot in our national rankings because Munciana does own a head-to-head victory over Sunshine their lone meeting. While there is an argument to put Munciana in the top spot, we held off based on overall strength of schedule. Sunshine played one of the top-three toughest schedules in the country and loss just four times all season while going undefeated at two national qualifiers and the 18 Open national championships. Given that, we kept Sunshine at the top.

1. SUNSHINE 18 LA

Comment: The USAV 18 Open gold medalist was the easy choice to be No. 1. Munciana owns a head-to-head victory over Sunshine in the finals of Triple Crown, but as we stated strength of schedule was a factor keeping Sunshine No. 1. A5 Mizuno 18 Marc is the only other team to own a victory against Sunshine on the national stage. Coast 18-1 and Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar each picked up a victory against Sunshine in local Premier Volleyball League action. Sunshine collected 38 victories against the Open field, including its time in Phoenix. That’s the most of any team.

2. MADFROG 18 GREEN

Comment: Madfrog showed moments of vulnerability in losing pool matches to Adversity 18 Adidas and FC Elite 18 Elite at JN’s. Yet, it responded by upsetting A5 in its challenge match on its way to finishing with the silver medal. That propelled Madfrog to No. 2 in the rankings. Yes, A5 did defeat Madfrog in Nashville, but there’s no doubt that A5 would gladly trade that victory for the one in Phoenix that didn’t happen. Madfrog also owns impressive victories outside of JN’s which includes beating Hou Skyline 18 Royal, Skyline 18 Royal, Coast and SASVBC 18-1.

3. A5 MIZUNO 18 MARC

Comment: A5 had a tremendous overall season. It just lost one match at the wrong time when it fell to Madfrog in the challenge round at JN’s. That was only A5’s third loss in a national tournament. OT 18 Chad and AZ Rev 18 Premier join Madfrog as the only clubs to own a victory over A5. A5 finished the year 3-1 against OT and 1-1 against Madfrog. A5 earned 31 victories against the Open field, second only to Sunshine.

4. MUNCIANA 18 SAMURAI

Comment: Compared to others in the rankings, Muncie has played a much lighter schedule but has proved itself to be among the top in the country regardless. Not only does the club own a victory over Sunshine in the final of Triple Crown, it owns 10 more victories against teams which qualified for 18 Open at JN’s. Its only losses are to SPVB, Hou Skyline and Coast 17-1. Given the lighter schedule Muncie comes in at No. 4.

5. SPVB 18 ELITE

Comment: It’s difficult ranking SPVB simply because it doesn’t have the same strength of schedule as others. Still, what it does have in terms of results has to be taken into consideration. SPVB owns a victory over Munciana and Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite, which finished tied for third at JN’s. SPVB only losses were to Team Indiana 18 Elite, which finished in the top half at JN’s, and Munciana in the 18 Open final at AAU.

6. ROCKWOOD THUNDER 18 ELITE

Comment: From here on out it starts getting interesting as the results get more and more mixed and mashed. There’s no denying Rockwood Thunder turned in a strong performance at JN’s by tying for the bronze medal. It’s only losses there were to Madfrog in the semis and to Vital in pool play. It upset Coast in challenge play. On the season, RT has just one loss to a non-qualified 18 Open squad and that was against CUVC 18 Premier. It also owns a victory over Skyline, which tied for fifth at JN’s.

7. SKYLINE 18 ROYAL

Comment: Skyline’s run to a fifth-place tie at JN’s included just one loss, to Sunshine in the quarterfinals. Like Rockwood Thunder, Skyline lost just once to a non-qualified 18 Open team in SA Junior 18 Adidas. It did earn some strong victories leading up to JN’s by topping Coast, Hou Skyline and Madfrog. It also owns head-to-head victories over bronze medalist FC Elite and Adversity, which tied for fifth.

8. FC ELITE 18 ELITE

Comment: Some could argue by virtue of finishing with a bronze medal at JN’s that FC Elite deserves to be ranked higher than No. 8. There’s certainly a case to be made. At the same time, FC Elite suffered setbacks to unqualified teams in Kairos 18 Elite and MKE Sting 18 Gold on the year, as well as falling to Gainesville Jrs 18/17 at JN’s. And it took a head-to-head loss against Skyline. FC Elite also owns a victory over MKE Sting to even that out, and does carry head-to-head wins over Rockwood Thunder during qualifying season and Madfrog in pool play at JN’s.

9. ADVERSITY 18 ADIDAS

Comment: Adversity lost a pool play match at JN’s to FC Elite but picked up a pair of impressive victories along the way over Madfrog and Hou Skyline, which came in challenge play. Those, along with its fifth-place showing, elevated Adversity into the Top 10. It had a fairly consistent season, with its only loss to a non-qualified team coming to MKE Sting, which Adversity also beat once. Adversity also downed FC Elite during qualifier season.

10. HOU SKYLINE 18 ROYAL

Comment: Based on its overall season, Hou Skyline should be ranked higher than No. 10. However, with Adversity upsetting Hou Skyline in challenge play Hou Skyline had to drop below Adversity. On top of that, it was not the strongest JN’s run for the Lone Star club. Hou Skyline suffered as many losses – three – in Phoenix as it did during the rest of the season. Its only losses outside of JN’s were to Skyline, Sunshine and Madfrog on a national stage. Along with the loss to Adversity in Phoenix, Hou Skyline was also upstaged by A5 and Rage Westside 18 Michelle. Earlier this season though, Hou Skyline registered wins over Munciana, A5, FC Elite and Adversity, all four which are ranked ahead of Hou Skyline here.

11. COAST 18-1

Comment: Coast had a very steady overall performance on the year. It lost just once to an unqualified team in Austin Skyline 18 Royal. The only other loss that stands out is falling to Mich Elite 18 Mizuno. Its other losses were all quality ones, including setbacks to Sunshine (three times), A5, Munciana and Skyline. Victories to its credit feature FC Elite, Sunshine, SASVBCand Long Beach(four times). Teams to beat Coast at JN’s were Rockwood Thunder in challenge play and Hou Skyline on the final day.

12. MIZUNO LONG BEACH 18 ROCKSTAR

Comment: Long Beach could have some beef, as it’s one of two clubs to reach the quarterfinals at JN’s and yet be ranked outside the Top 10. However, it was an up-and-down year for Beach, which finished on a high by tying for fifth in Phoenix. It did win two qualifiers in Salt Lake City and PNQ. Yet it did take some tough losses on the season. One came to Triangle 18 Black in pool play at JNs. Some others included losing to Rancho Valley 18 Premier, South County 18 Darice and Muscle 18 Black. It did beat Rancho Valley twice though, and did gain a victory over South County to help even those losses out. And it did down Sunshine one time too.

13. SASVBC 18-1

Comment: Spike and Serve is one of the harder teams to rank. It was down six players at JN’s, so it was a brand-new team in essence. The Hawaiian team still fared well considering, coming in 17th. SAS was knocked from contention in Phoenix by Long Beach in the challenge rounds. Its other two losses there were to Rockwood Thunder and Vital 18 Gold. During the regular season, SAS had setbacks to A5, Coast and Madfrog, all quality losses. It also owns a victory over Madfrog. Therefore, SAS comes in at No. 13.

14. RAGE WESTSIDE 18 MICHELLE

Comment: Rage is the perfect example of why rankings are so subjective. Rage pulled a huge upset against Hou Skyline in pool play at JN’s, but also lost to Excel 18 National Red in pool action. Rage did have a consistent qualifying effort though. It didn’t lose to a non-qualified team. And just one of those – to AZ Sky 18 Gold – was questionable. It also owns two strong head-to-head victories over Madfrog and OT Chad. Rage defeated Dynasty 18 Black in one challenge match at JN’s before falling to Sunshine.

15. OT 18 CHAD

Comment: OT Chad lost twice at JN’s. One came to Long Beach in the challenge round. The other came to A5 on Day 3. It didn’t lose to any unqualified teams during the season. The most questionable loss was to Tri-State Elite 18 Blue. It did garner a victory over A5, as well as bronze medalist Rockwood Thunder during qualifying.

16. TEAM INDIANA ELITE 18.1

Comment: This was another one that was hard to handle. On one hand, Team Indiana has only four victories against the qualified field, but one was against Adversity. Team Indiana is also the only team to beat SPVB so far though. It has some tough losses this season that include KiVA 18 Red, Tejas 18 Black and twice to Illini Elite 18 Cardinal. It took a tough one at JN’s too, falling to Rage 18 Cory. However, Team Indiana did score a clutch victory when it took out Metro 18 Travel in challenge play to reach the Top 16 at JN’s. That’s how Team Indiana wound up at No. 16.

17. METRO 18 TRAVEL

Comment: Metro turned in one of the better qualifying seasons. Stumbling against Team Indiana in challenge play at JN’s though kept Metro from being any higher. Metro did not lose to an unqualified team. It beat Adversity twice and OT Chad once. Metro’s only other loss at JN’s though was to OT Chad in pool play.

18. ABSOLUTE BLACK 18-1

Comment: From here on out, almost every remaining team has more losses against the qualified Open field than it does victories. Absolute went 12-14 against qualified teams. It also lost to unqualified SG Elite 18 Rosh. It did split a pair of matches with Rage, as well as Adversity. It also had plenty of quality losses to Madfrog, Metro, SAS, Skyline, Long Beach and Sunshine. Its four losses at JN’s were all to teams ranked higher here in Rockwood Thunder, Long Beach, SAS and Skyline.

19. LEGACY 18 ADIDAS

Comment: Legacy lost twice at JN’s, to Rockwood Thunder and SAS. It did beat Vital there, as well as twice during the season. The story of Legacy’s season was not being able to beat the top tier teams. It lost twice to Rockwood Thunder and SAS. It also fell to Sunshine, Metro, Hou Skyline, Long Beach and Coast. Among other results, Legacy split a pair of matches with Circle City, and also owns a victory over Team Indiana. It also beat Arizona Storm Elite 18 Thunder at JN’s.

20. ARIZONA STORM ELITE 18 THUNDER

Comment: With a stronger showing at JN’s there’s no doubt Storm would’ve been ranked higher. It’s one of the few teams left that put together more victories than losses against the qualified field. Its most questionable loss during the season came to PVA 18 Elite. The other were all quality ones, including to Coast twice, Long Beach, Adversity and Skyline. Yet, it was a tough go at JN’s, where Storm lost to 1st Alliance 18 Gold, Legacy and MN Select 18-1, as well as Sunshine. It did avenge its loss to PVA though by beating PVA at JN’s.

21. CIRCLE CITY 18 PURPLE

Comment: Circle City made the most of its at-large bid, reaching the Top 16 before losing its challenge outing to FC Elite. The other setbacks in Phoenix came to Hou Skyline, Rage and Wave 18 Kevin. It also beat Rage at JN’s as well. Circle City had some rough losses during the season that included KiVA, Kairos and Muscle. It did beat Absolute, Vital (twice) and Rage during the season though too.

22. VITAL 18-1 GOLD

Comment: No team was harder to rank than Vital. Yes, the at-large squad turned in a remarkable performance in Phoenix and tied for fifth place. That run included victories over Rockwood Thunder and SAS. It did lose in pool play to Legacy and in the quarterfinals to FC Elite. At the same time, the regular season was not as impressive. It didn’t pick up a victory over any teams ranked higher here. And it also had losses to VCNebraska 18 Elite and Austin Skyline, neither of which qualified for Open. It also split a pair of matches against Premier Nebraska 18 Gold, Northern Lightsand Excel, as well as going 0-2 against Circle City.

23. DYNASTY 18 BLACK

Comment: At JN’s, Dynasty lost to A5 in pool play, Rage in challenge action and to Metro on Day 3. Its best victory during the season came over FC Elite. Like many of the remaining teams, it took some tough losses along the way, including to Six Pack 18, Nebraska Elite and FRVBC 18 Black. It did beat NE Elite as well. And it split a pair of matches with KC Power 18-1 and AVC Cle Rox 18 Red.

24. PVA 18 ELITE

Comment: There’s no doubt that PVA took some questionable losses during the regular season. More than it liked, that’s for sure. They included setbacks against High Voltage, Iowa Rockets, Northern Lights-2, NE Elite, MKE Sting and Club Ignit. At the same time, it did pick up some big victories that included wins over Madfrog and AZ Storm. It also had a good showing at JN’s, not losing to a lower-ranked team. In Phoenix, its losses came to Madfrog, Sunshine, AZ Storm and SAS.

25. A4 VOLLEY 18 JOACO

Comment: The rankings get more and more debatable the deeper we go. A4 certainly had a rocky regular season. There were losses to Sunshine 18 Westside, Surfside 18 Legends, OMNI 18 and NNJ 18 Jason. A4 did beat Surfside twice to make up for that one, as well as collecting a pair of victories over Long Beach and one against Skyline. In Phoenix, it beat Northern Lights in a strong showing. The losses at JN’s came to A5, Circle City (in challenge play), Dynasty, Metro and a tough one to Renovators.

26. MN SELECT 18-1

27. AVC CLE ROX 18 RED

28. NORTHERN LIGHTS 18-1

29. KU’IKAHI 18 WAHINE RSB

Comment: It’s a very limited schedule for Ku’Ikahi. However, its losses were quality ones to A5, AZ Storm and Rockwood Thunder. And it does own victories over Mich Elite and OT Felix.

30. OT 18 FELIX

31. CLUB V 18 REN REED

32. HJV 18 ELITE

33. ILLINI ELITE 18 CARDINAL

Comment: Illini did not play in any qualifiers but did play in Central Zone, Triple Crown, Bluegrass and the JVA World Challenge. In those, Illini picked up victories over qualified teams in Team Indiana (twice), Academy 18 Diamond, Dynasty Academy, KC Power, PVA and NPJ. Some of its losses to qualified teams include HJV 18 Elite, Excel, Tri-State and Rockwood Thunder.

34. VC UNITED 18 ELITE

35. KC POWER 18-1

36. WAVE 18 KEVIN

Comment: Wave was a tough team to rank. With its full lineup this season it garnered some quality victories against Long Beach, Coast and OT Chad. Its only loss to a non-qualified team was to Sunshine Westside.

37. TRIANGLE 18 BLACK

38. ACADEMY 18 DIAMOND

39. DYNASTY ACADEMY 18 ADIDAS

40. MICHIGAN ELITE 18 MIZUNO

Comment: Mich Elite struggled a bit at JN’s, with losses to Academy Diamond, Dynasty Academy and AZ Sky. It did beat AVC Cle, as it did in the regular season too. Mich Elite did earn a few quality victories throughout the year, including triumphs over Team Indiana, Adversity and Coast, while also splitting a pair of meetings with Legacy.

41. EXCEL 18 NATIONAL RED

42. RAGE 18 CORY/KATIE

43. GAINESVILLE JRS 18/17

44. TOP SELECT 18 ELITE

45. TRI-STATE ELITE 18 BLUE

Comment: Tri-State was one of the harder teams to place. It has some of the best victories of any teams in the lower half of the rankings in AVC Cle, Northern Lights (twice), PVA, OT Chad, Team Indiana and Rockwood Thunder. At the same time, it had some tough losses this season, including to Munciana 18 Quora, KiVAand Iowa Select. It also lost at JN’s to Rage Cory and Top Select.

46. AZ EVJ 18 TEMPE

47. PREMIER NEBRASKA 18 GOLD

48. SUNSHINE 18 WESTSIDE

Comment: Sunshine Westside was the 18 USA champion and makes the cut based on some quality victories. Ones that include beating Open teams in VC United, Triangle, Wave and A4. It also beat 18 National champion Front Range.

49. FRVBC 18 BLACK

Comment: The 18 National gold medalists squeaked in. Front Range went undefeated at JNs in winning its division. It also picked up victories over qualified teams in HJV, Dynasty and Club V during the regular season.

50. EXCEL NW 18 ROX

ON THE CUSP:

RENOVATORS 18 ALLEN
AZ SKY 18 GOLD
NPJ 18 FOREFRONT
1ST ALLIANCE 18 GOLD
SA JUNIORS 18 ADIDAS
MKE STING 18 GOLD
ALLIANCE 18 REN
NORCO 18 BLACK
CAPITAL 18 ADIDAS
ROOTS 18 UA GREEN
KAIROS 18 ADIDAS
SG ELITE 18 ROSH
NKYVC 18-1 TSUNAMI
RANCHO VALLEY 18 PREMIER