Ponte Vedra streak continues; Sharks still No. 1 in the all-classification regional rankings

GAINESVILLE – The top-ranked team in The Prep Zone Power Poll for the third straight week is Ponte Vedra.

The Sharks (3-0), who received six of the seven first-place votes in this week’s poll, remained the top-ranked team in the all-classification rankings for the third straight week after sweeping Middleburg and Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) last week.

They won their 12th straight match last week. The defending 5A state champions have not lost since October 2019.

Santa Fe (Alachua), which received the other first-place vote, remained second after a 5-2 week, including going 3-2 at the prestigious Berkeley Prep Tournament in Tampa over the weekend.

The Raiders (9-2), last year’s Class 4A state runner-up, had wins over Academy of Holy Names (Tampa), Trinity Catholic and Calvary Christian, while losing to Steinbrenner (Lutz) and host Berkeley Prep.

Forest (Ocala) (5-0) jumped from fourth to third after sweeping county rivals Belleview and West Port (Ocala) last week.

Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (2-3) dropped to fourth after finishing 2-3 at the Berkeley Prep Tournament with wins over Buchholz and Calvary Christian, while losing to Plant (Tampa), Santa Fe and Clearwater Central Catholic.

Vanguard (Ocala) (5-1) jumped from eighth to fifth this week after wins over county rivals Lake Weir (Ocala) and Belleview.

Bishop Kenny (4-2) remained sixth after finishing the week at 2-1 with wins over Fernandina Beach and Yulee, while getting swept by No. 1 Ponte Vedra earlier in the week.

Rounded out the top 10 is No. 7 Creekside (St. Johns) (4-0), No. 8 Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5-1), No. 9 Fletcher (Jacksonville) (5-0) and No. 10 Newberry (5-2), which moved up two spots after a 4-0 week including a huge win over previous No. 7 and current No. 11 Bell earlier in the week.

The biggest surprise was Buchholz dropping from No. 5 to No. 13 after a shocking 0-5 week, including 0-4 at the Berkeley Prep Tournament this past weekend.

New to the poll this week are Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (7-0 ranked No. 19) and St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (7-0), which is tied with Gainesville for 20th.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball teams (regardless of FHSAA Classification) across the 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, 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 – 2020 Volleyball Poll #3
(School, city, classification, first-place votes, overall record through 9/20, and total voting points)
1. Ponte Vedra (5A) (6) (3-0) – 139
2. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (1) (9-2) – 131
3. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (5-0) – 126
4. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (2-3) – 120
5. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (5-1) – 108
6. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4-2) – 99
7. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (4-0) – 95
8. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (5-1) – 93
9. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (5-0) – 79
10. Newberry (1A) (5-2) – 78
11. Bell (1A) (9-3) – 73
12. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (3-0) – 63
13. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (2-6) – 47
14. Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) (2A) (0-0) – 37
15. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (5-1) – 35
16. Branford (1A) (4-1) – 32
17. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (3-2) – 28
18. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (2-3) – 17
19. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (7-0) – 15
20T. Gainesville (6A) (3-1) – 14
20T. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (2A) (7-0) – 14
Receiving votes: Lecanto (5A) (1-0) – 11; St. John Lutheran (Ocala) (2A) (5-1) – 7; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (7A) (3-1) – 3; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (7-3) – 2; Oak Hall (Gainesville) (3A) (3-1) – 1; Trenton (1A) (5-2) – 1; Tavares (4A) (5-1) – 1.

Defending 5A state champion Ponte Vedra remains on top of the all-classification regional rankings

GAINESVILLE – The top-ranked team in The Prep Zone Power Poll for the second straight week is Ponte Vedra, which happened to be the only team to bring home a state title to the area last year.

Ponte Vedra remains on top of the regional all-classification rankings for the second straight week after starting the season off with a sweep of former No. 12 Bartram Trail (St. Johns) in its season opener.

The Sharks (1-0) received five of the seven first-place votes in this week’s poll, while 2nd-ranked Santa Fe (Alachua) received the other two first-place votes.

Previous No. 3 Santa Fe and former No. 2 ranked Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (0-0) switched places this week after the Raiders (4-0) knocked off former No. 4 Buchholz (Gainesville), No. 6 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) and Middleburg.

Forest (Ocala) (3-0) remains at No. 4 after season opening sweeps over previously No. 10 Vanguard (Ocala), Dunnellon and North Marion (Citra).
Buchholz (2-1) dropped one spot to fifth this week after dropping a four-set loss to Santa Fe.

Bishop Kenny (2-1) stayed at No. 6 this week in the poll after winning a five-game thriller over Bartram Trail, while also getting swept by Santa Fe.

Bell (6-1) remains at No. 7 this week after winning its own Lady Bulldog Invitational with wins over Crescent City, Williston, St. John Lutheran (Ocala) and Union County (Lake Butler).

Vanguard (3-1) jumped two spots to No. 8 this week despite getting swept by arch-rival Forest earlier in the week.

Rounded out the top 10 was No. 9 Fleming Island (Orange Park) (4-1) and No. 10 Creekside (St. Johns) (1-0), which opened the season with a win over No. 17 Ridgeview (Orange Park).

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball teams (regardless of FHSAA Classification) across the 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, 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 – 2020 Volleyball Poll #2
(School, city, classification, first-place votes, overall record through 9/13, and total voting points)
1. Ponte Vedra (5A) (5) (1-0) – 138
2. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (2) (4-0) – 133
3. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (0-0) – 127
4. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (3-0) – 118
5. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (2-1) – 112
6. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-1) – 103
7. Bell (1A) (6-1) – 102
8. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (3-1) – 86
9. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (4-1) – 78
10. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (1-0) – 69
11. Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) (2A) (0-0) – 56
12. Newberry (1A) (1-2) – 49
13. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (3-0) – 45
14. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (2-0) – 43
15. Branford (1A) (2-0) – 42
16. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (0-2) – 30
17. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (3-2) – 22
18. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (3-0) – 20
19. Lecanto (5A) (0-0) – 18
20. Gainesville (6A) (2-0) – 17
Also receiving votes: Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (0-0) – 16, Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (4A) (0-0) – 15, Trenton (1A) (3-0) – 6, Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (5-3) – 6, First Academy-Leesburg (2A) (0-0) – 6, St. John Lutheran (Ocala) (2A) (4-1) – 5, Yulee (4A) (2-1) – 5, Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (4-3) – 2.