No. 1 Northwest Christian (24-6 overall, 16-1 power-ranking games)

The top-seeded Crusaders lost to No. 2 Valley Christian 3-1 in the first match of the year way back on Sept. 1.  Northwest Christian beat No 3 Fountain Hills in five sets several days later.

First-year coach Jenna Hope inherited a program with 11 state championships with the last coming in 2013. Since then, the Crusaders finished in the semifinals in 2014 and in the second round last year. It is a young team with only one senior (Lexi Liles). Junior McKenna Roth leads the team with 376 assists.

“We have been successful this year because of our talent, but most importantly because we care about each other,” Hope said. “The girls are friends on and off the court.  We do service projects as a team and really enjoy being around each other.  The girls do not only seek what is best for themselves, but the team. We are a very selfless team this year and I feel it has brought us more success.”

No. 2 Valley Christian (25-16, 14-3)

As mentioned before, the Trojans beat Northwest Christian but the team also split with Fountain Hills with the 3-0 win coming less than two weeks ago.

Lisa Gross is in her second year with Valley Christian. The program has nine championships to its credit with the last one coming in 2009. Gross led the team to a second-round finish last year.

“Coaching the girls is not just about improving the skills of volleyball but also helping to shape them into future Christian adults and prepare them to go out into the world and teaching them valuable life lessons while having fun/joy and living out one of their passions in life-volleyball!” Gross said.  “We have a team of incredibly talented, great girls!”

No. 3 Fountain Hills (32-9, 14-3)

Peter McGloin is in his second year with the Falcons. The team finished in the second round last year. The Falcons won a state championship in 1997 but have not been to the final match since 2003.

Junior OH  Kailey “KC” McMahon set the single season and career school records for kills and she committed to play volleyball at the University of Wyoming.

“We started off struggling to play with the level of focus and intensity that is expected and began the season 7-5,” McGloin said. “However, the team improved dramatically and learned how to play with consistent effort and improved resilience, which resulted in a 22-3 run and a runner-up finish at the Wolves Classic and the Championship of the Chandler Prep Invitational.  The team won 15 straight matches before losing to Valley Christian after taking a break for Fall Break.  We need to remember what it takes for this team to be great going into the playoffs.”

No. 4 Snowflake (37-11, 14-3)

The Lobos did not play any of the top three seeds this year but the team did beat 4A Conference power Cienega two weeks ago. Longtime coach Alan Ramage led the Lobos to back-to-back quarterfinal appearances and a semifinal appearance in 2013.

“Our strength is that we are small but try to play defense to the best of our ability,” Ramage said. “We have to learn to hang with the big teams. We don't have any 6-foot girls so we have to learn to play quicker.  Our chemistry is coming together.  One of our strengths is that we have had the opportunity to play a strong schedule.  We looked for good programs and added them to our schedule.  That helps with our experience sine we only have four seniors”