The beat goes on for the Ponte Vedra Sharks.
Ponte Vedra, which won the last two 5A state titles and is now the top-ranked team in 6A as well as being ranked third nationally by Max Preps, extended its winning streak to 49 games dating back to 2019 and improved to 13-0 this season.
The Sharks knocked off Merritt Island and No. 3 Santa Fe (Alachua) in a tough five-setter to keep the winning streak alive, and they received all five first-place votes in the all-classification regional rankings.
Trinity Catholic remains No. 2 in The Prep Zone power poll.
The defending 3A state champion Celtics (13-2), who are ranked No. 9 overall in Florida by Max Preps, have won six in a row. In the past few weeks Trinity Catholic knocked off 5A Vanguard (Ocala), 6A Buchholz (Gainesville), 6A Leon (Tallahassee), and Bishop Moore (Orlando).
Santa Fe remains No. 3 despite a five-set loss at Ponte Vedra.
The Raiders (14-3) remain ranked No. 1 in 4A according to Max Preps and picked up wins the past few weeks over previously-ranked Oak Hall (Gainesville) and No. 20 Gainesville.
Mandarin (Jacksonville) moves up two spots to No. 4.
The Mustangs (16-1), who are the third-ranked team in 7A, dropped their first game of the season to Chiles (Tallahassee), but picked up seven more wins over the past two weeks including at No. 8 Creekside (St. Johns), Master’s Academy (Oviedo), Lincoln (Tallahassee) and No. 20 Fletcher (Neptune Beach).
Forest (Ocala) drops a spot but rounds out the top five.
The Wildcats (9-3) dropped a game to 6A rival Leon but also won games against Buchholz and Vanguard.
Defending 4A state champion Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) drops two slots to sixth this week.
The Crusaders (10-5), ranked No. 4 in 4A, won at Nease (Ponte Vedra) and defeated No. 18 Middleburg, but lost in three sets to seventh-ranked Bartram Trail (St. Johns).
Bartram Trail is right behind Bishop Kenny this week at No. 7. The Bears (8-4), who are ranked 22nd statewide by MaxPreps, moved up three spots this week.
No. 8 Creekside, ninth-ranked Weeki Wachee, and No. 10 Providence (Jacksonville) round out the top 10 this week.
New to the poll this week are Middleburg, No. 14 Ridgeview (Orange Park), Fletcher and St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park). The latter two teams are tied for 20th with Gainesville.
Dropping out from last week are No. 16 Episcopal (Jacksonville) and No. 19 Yulee, which are both receiving votes.
The Prep Zone power poll ranks the top 20 high school football, volleyball, girls basketball, boys basketball, baseball and softball teams (regardless of FHSAA Classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union and Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
The Prep Zone power poll – 2021 Volleyball Poll week 2
(School, city, classification, first-place votes, current record through 9/25, and total voting points)
1. Ponte Vedra (5A) (5) (13-0) – 100
2. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (12-2) – 94
3. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (14-3) – 90
4. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (7A) (16-1) – 84
5. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (9-3) – 79
6. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (10-5) – 69
7. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (8-4) – 68
8. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (10-3) – 62
9. Weeki Wachee (4A) (11-3) – 55
10. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (14-4) – 54
11. New Smyrna Beach (6A) (12-4) – 44
12. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (10-4) – 41
13. The Villages (4A) (10-1) – 40
14. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (10-5) – 36
15. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (10-0) – 23
16. DeLand (7A) (11-8) – 20
17. Christ’s Church (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-4) – 19
18. Middleburg (5A) (11-8) – 14
19. Newberry (1A) (10-6) – 13
20T. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (10-7) – 10
20T. Gainesville (6A) (11-7) – 10
20T. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (2A) (8-2) – 10
Receiving votes: Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (11-7) – 6; Yulee (4A) (9-7) – 6; St. John Lutheran (Ocala) (2A) (10-3) – 3; Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (10-7) – 1; Taylor (Pierson) (1A) (10-2) – 1.