Congrats to SCVC 17 Roxy! After earning the 17 Open gold medal at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships in Chicago, the So Cal club finishes the season on top of our Top 50 Club National Rankings. There are times when teams can take advantage of a break or a fortuitous schedule. However, that was not the case with SCVC, which flexed its muscle in powering through a loaded 17s field.

There’s no denying SCVC was playing its best when it mattered most. If not one but two victories over the top-ranked team in the country in Dynasty 17 Black – including in the 17 Open championship match – weren’t convincing enough, then nothing will be. SCVC’s close to the season was both stunning and remarkable as the squad picked up victories over then-No. 4 NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami in challenge play followed by taking down then-No. 2 TAV 17 Black in the quarterfinals and then-No. 7 1st Alliance 17 Gold in the semis before topping then-No. 1 Dynasty for a second time to earn the gold medal.

Both Dynasty and TAV slid down a spot in our final rankings, to No. 2 and 3 respectively. Metro 17 Travel was among the biggest movers, climbing from No. 32 to No. 4 in our final rankings after finishing tied for fifth in Chicago. Wave 17 Juliana and Hou Skyline 17 Royal also both jumped into the Top 10 after impressive performances. Wave lost just one match during the four-day stretch, with it coming against Metro in the challenge round. Hou Skyline finished tied for third and earned a bronze medal after upsetting OT 17 Aaron in challenge play and Drive Nation 17 Red in the quarterfinals before falling to Dynasty in the semis.

Ultimately, 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 subjective. There are power league results, qualifier results, national tournaments like Triple Crown and of course the USAV and AAU national championships. All these come into play. We put more weight on what happened at Junior Nationals than the rest of the season because the schedule 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 as a team might be too high or low overall but what’s the point if the biggest head-to-head matches of the season aren’t the most important ones?

vballrecruiter.com’S FINAL TOP 50 NATIONAL RANKINGS

1. SCVC 17 Roxy (CA) (16 – previous ranking)

2. Dynasty 17 Black (KS) (1)

3. TAV 17 Black (TX) (2)

4. Metro 17 Travel (DC) (32)

5. 1st Alliance 17 Gold (7)

6. Wave 17 Juliana (CA) (15)

7. Triangle 17 Black (NC) (3)

8. Hou Skyline 17 Royal (TX) (17)

9. Drive Nation 17 Red (TX) (6)

10. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (KY) (4)

***

11. OT 17 Aaron (FL) (9)

12. Co Jrs 17 Kevin (CO) (8)

13. Momentous 17 Dan (CA) (14)

14. SG Elite 17 Rosh (CA) (19)

15. Coast 17-1 (CA) (18)

16. KC Power 17 Black (KS) (13)

17. Club V 17 Ren Matthew (UT) (21)

18. A5 17 Jing (GA) (5)

19. Tri-State Elite 17 Blue (OH) (22)

20. HJV 17 Elite (TX) (11)

***

21. Pohaku 17-1 (KS) (30)

22. Premier Nebraska 17 Gold (NE) (10)

23. Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite (MO) (12)

24. Top Select 17 Elite (FL) (39)

25. Miami Hype 17 Emilio (FL) (46)

26. Vision 17 Gold (CA) (20)

27. OT 17 Felix (FL) (23)

28. Academy 17 Tsunami (IN) (26)

29. Skyline 17 Royal (TX) (24)

30. Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar (CA) (29)

***

31. AVC Cle 17 Red (OH) (34)

32. Madfrog 17 Green (TX) (31)

33. City 17 Gold (CA) (37)

34. Seal Beach 17 Black (CA) (35)

35. NorCal 17-1 Black (CA) (36)

36. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold (IN) (27)

37. Six Pack 17 (IO) (41)

38. HPSTL 17 Royal (MO) (n/r)

39. MKE Sting 17 Gold (WI) (28)

40. MAVS KC 17-1 (KS) (n/r)

***

41. Rev 17-1 Raptors (IN) (n/r)

42. AJV 17 Adidas (TX) (36)

43. Elevation 17 Ulland (OH) (42)

44. Mintonette Sports m.71 (OH) (49)

45. VCNebraska 17 Elite (NE) (25)

46. Kairos 17 Alpha (SD) (n/r)

47. Northern Lights 17-1 (MN) (48)

48. FC Elite 17 Navy (WI) (n/r)

49. SASVBC 17-1 (HI) (n/r)

50. Rock City 17-1 (OH) (43)

ON THE CUSP

Ku’Ikahi 17 RSB Wahine (HI)
Adidas KiVA 17 Red (KY)
Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal (FL)
Illini Elite 17 Cardinal (IL)
Excel 17 National Red (TX)
K2 17 Jota (TN)
Legacy 17-1 Adidas (MI)
MN Select 17-1 (MN)
Maverick 17 Elite (OH)
VC United 17 Elite (IL)
Circle City 17 Purple (IN)
Team Momentum 17 Navy (MO)
TVA 17 Smack Megan (FL)
NE Elite 17 Top Gun (NE)
Team Indiana 17.1 Elite (IN)
DaKine Warriors 17 Surf (WA)
TIV 17 Black (TX)
Absolute 17 Black (CA)
TAV Houston 17 Adidas (TX)