Top !0 Volleyball Schools

[bratman]

Who do you think the top 10 volleyball schools are in this state, since 1990?

 

My list, ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

 

Anderson County

Brentwood

Briarcrest

East Ridge

Father Ryan

Germantown

GPS

Harding Academy

Harpeth Hall

Sullivan South

 

 

Honorable Mention to Page (a great run, but short and didn't last beyond coach Berry); Ooltewah, Farragut and Lavergne (consistently good but never GREAT); Summertown, Loretto; BGA; etc. competitive for several years.

 

 

I AM SURE I MISSED SOME AND I MEAN TO SLIGHT NO-ONE!!! I HAD A BAD BRAT LAST NIGHT.

[Cowboys Up]

Who do you think the top 10 volleyball schools are in this state, since 1990?

 

My list, ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

 

Anderson County

Brentwood

Briarcrest

East Ridge

Father Ryan

Germantown

GPS

Harding Academy

Harpeth Hall

Sullivan South

Honorable Mention to Page (a great run, but short and didn't last beyond coach Berry); Ooltewah, Farragut and Lavergne (consistently good but never GREAT); Summertown, Loretto; BGA; etc. competitive for several years.

I AM SURE I MISSED SOME AND I MEAN TO SLIGHT NO-ONE!!! I HAD A BAD BRAT LAST NIGHT.

As hard as I try, I can't disagree with your list!

[bratman]

Thanks CU. Also, according to our coaches the 01' and 02' Page teams were two of the best ever!

[oldsklvb]

This is a great post especially if you look at the teams that have had success since 1996 once they had all three divisions. Comparing the top vb schools is of course subjective but let's look at the numbers for the schools that have made it to the finals in each of their divisions from 1997-2005 (for consistency sake with 3 divisions).

 

Here is my ranking based on the number of times they have made the finals and then the tie breaker is 1st vs. 2nd place. Brentwood has had an amazing run when you look at the numbers and then other teams are a bit of a surprise as well.

 

1-Brentwood (7)

2-Father Ryan (5)

3-Page (4)

4-Anderson County (4), three second place finishes

5-Harpeth Hall (3), 2 championships and 1 second

6-Briarcrest (3)

7-GPS (3)

8-East Ridge (2) championship in A/AA and AAA

9-Germantown (2)

10-Baylor (2)

 

Interesting how my ranking is very close to BratMav's with the exception of Page and Baylor. You can debate whether or not if championships mean more than second place or even making the state tournament but it's hard to quantify what a top vb school is so I thought the numbers would be a good starting point. These schools all have or had very good programs in place and it will be interesting to see how this year plays out in all of the divisions.

[SNRaiderFan]

What about sullivan east's back to back state finals against Brentwood? Also, Sullivan South has been great through several coaches. I would drop Baylor and add south.

[oldsklvb]

Sullivan East was runner up and I gave Baylor the nod since they won two state championships. Same with SS, two runner ups don't beat out 2 championships.

 

Both schools have done well but are in a very tough division with the likes of Brentwood and Germantown, between the two schools they have won every state championship since 1997. East Ridge beat Brentwood in the 1997 AAA finals.

[clifford20]

Sullivan East was runner up and I gave Baylor the nod since they won two state championships. Same with SS, two runner ups don't beat out 2 championships.

 

Both schools have done well but are in a very tough division with the likes of Brentwood and Germantown, between the two schools they have won every state championship since 1997. East Ridge beat Brentwood in the 1997 AAA finals.

 

 

Germantown has to be in the top 5. 7 state Championships. THey have also been to the state in the toughest division for 300 straight years.

[oldsklvb]

Germantown has to be in the top 5. 7 state Championships. THey have also been to the state in the toughest division for 300 straight years.

 

Germantown has won twice since 1990 (if we use Brat's starting point) and hasn't made any other finals since 1990. Good program but you have to wonder if this is a similar situation where they compete in a weaker region and the road to state is a bit easier. Last years team was very good especially Laura Thompson.

[Generally Speaking]

While Page's run might have been short by some standards the number of titles is beyond dispute. And while there may be a drop off without Coach Berry, the addition of Independence High to further split the talent pool has probably had a greater negative effect.

 

Very good list by Bratman however. It's good to see the public schools represented. In KY the 27 state championship games have been played with only 10 different teams--ALL Private and ALL from Louisville and NKY.

Edited July 18, 2006 by Generally Speaking

[KYdigsTN]

This is a great post especially if you look at the teams that have had success since 1996 once they had all three divisions. Comparing the top vb schools is of course subjective but let's look at the numbers for the schools that have made it to the finals in each of their divisions from 1997-2005 (for consistency sake with 3 divisions).

 

Here is my ranking based on the number of times they have made the finals and then the tie breaker is 1st vs. 2nd place. Brentwood has had an amazing run when you look at the numbers and then other teams are a bit of a surprise as well.

 

1-Brentwood (7)

2-Father Ryan (5)

3-Page (4)

4-Anderson County (4), three second place finishes

5-Harpeth Hall (3), 2 championships and 1 second

6-Briarcrest (3)

7-GPS (3)

8-East Ridge (2) championship in A/AA and AAA

9-Germantown (2)

10-Baylor (2)

 

Interesting how my ranking is very close to BratMav's with the exception of Page and Baylor. You can debate whether or not if championships mean more than second place or even making the state tournament but it's hard to quantify what a top vb school is so I thought the numbers would be a good starting point. These schools all have or had very good programs in place and it will be interesting to see how this year plays out in all of the divisions.

 

I look at a list like this and am a bit jelous of the superior way the state tournament is handled in TN compared to KY. Because you have a three division system it allows smaller public schools to at least be discussed as top volleyball programs. I look at this list though and it strikes me that the reality is that this is not a list of the best teams, but actually the most successful programs within a division system the state has set up. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and the teams mentioned are all very deserving of recognition, but the reality is if all these teams were qualifying for one all inclusive state tournament division like KY has, a few would not get very far yet alone win. A few would not even qualify as they would have to get past larger AAA schools or better private schools within their region just to get there.

Edited July 18, 2006 by KYdigsTN

[catuballer]

KYdigs has an excellent point. Those of us in TN don't realize how good our state tourney system is. The best teams typically end up at state.

 

KY has a system that is so flawed it is ridiculous. They have teams that don't make it to the state tournament that could win our AAA tournament. There are several reasons: Their private schools have all the club players and they either recruit or all the club parents decide to send their kids to the same school , so their kids can compete for a state championship.

 

Honestly, if Brentwood or Germantown high schools were located in Louisville, KY, neither would have won a state tournament nor be known as a power house.

[bratman]

If an apple were an orange, would we still call it an apple?

 

Catuballer, the difference is the recruiting, the money, and year round play. They Louisville teams aren't better, they are different. You can't compare those type of year round programs that recruit to a normal program.

 

The run Brentwood had is similiar. They were the first school to embrace year round play and to use "club" to have an extra season. I still think this is wrong, because I don't think it is good for the athlete.

 

I remember when the TSSAA got up in arms about Brentwood Academy openly recruiting and playing year round. So much so that they changed the rules.

 

 

Were they right? Depends on who you talk to.

 

Brentwood was the gold standard in our state. Just because a few Ky private schools that play more than most college programs could beat them doesn't mean anything.