Senior setter Hannah Parish collected 31 assists and 8 aces in Rincon's 3-0 win at Tucson High on Tuesday night. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

 

Each of the six conferences has a unique playoff qualification system. Let’s take a look at which the teams from Southern Arizona are still in the playoff hunt: (Rankings as of Oct. 17.)

 

6A CONFERENCE

The 6A Conference has a play-in bracket for teams ranked 9-24. The winner of the 6A Southern Region tournament will get an automatic berth to, at minimum, the state play-in tournament.

Region Tournament: Tuesday, Oct. 24.

 

No. 13 Rincon/University is 3-0 in region play with a region match still to be played.   No. 12 Kofa controls the Yuma sub-region at 3-0.  Seeding for the region tournament will be decided this week.

 

5A CONFERENCE.

The 5A Conference has a play-in bracket for teams ranked 9-24. The region winners will get an automatic berth to, at minimum, the play-in tournament.

 

The 5A Southern Region is controlled by No. 14 Cienega (5-2). The Bobcats split with No. 9 Ironwood Ridge (5-2) and can claim the automatic playoff berth with a victory over 28 Buena (0-6) on Tuesday, Oct. 24 due to a better conference record than the Nighthawks.

No. 16 Mountain View (4-3) beat Ironwood Ridge 3-2 on Tuesday night and the Mountain Lions are sure to climb in the rankings. No. 18 Sahuaro (2-3) is still alive in the region hunt.

The 5A Sonoran Region is a bit easier to figure out with No. 21 Marana (6-0) two matches ahead of No. 23 Poston Butte (3-2). The two teams will meet on Thursday.  Marana beat Poston Butte 3-2 in a region match earlier in the year. Marana will finish with No. 38 Desert View (0-6) on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

 

4A CONFERENCE

The 4A Conference will play in a 16-team bracket with the region champions earning an automatic playoff bid.

 

No. 26 Palo Verde (4-1) is in a battle with No. 22 Pueblo (2-1) along with No. 37 Amphitheater (2-2) in the 4A Gila Region. The winner of this region could finish outside of the top 16.

No. 3 Salpointe (5-0) can clinch the 4A Kino Region on Thursday with a win over No. 30 Walden Grove (0-5). No 7. Nogales (4-2) took the Lancers to five sets last week. No. 15 Canyon del Oro (4-3) still has 5A power Mountain View and Salpointe on the schedule for next week. Due to the 4A Gila situation, the Dorados need to finish strong to avoid being on the edge.

 

3A CONFERENCE

The 3A Conference has a play-in bracket for teams ranked 9-24. The top two teams in the 3A South Region will get an automatic berth to, at minimum, the state play-in tournament.

 

No. 11 Tanque Verde (8-1), No. 8 Pusch Ridge (8-2), No. 21 Sabino (6-2) and No. 20 Empire (5-3) are still jostling for the top two playoff sports. Tanque Verde beat Pusch Ridge 3-2 on Monday night.

 

2A CONFERENCE

The region winners will get an automatic berth to the state playoffs while the second-place teams will join the next eight ranked teams in the conference play-in tournament.

 

No. 15 St. Augustine (9-0) has clinched the 2A South Region title and No. 23 Miami (7-1) claimed the second playoff spot.

No. 11 Benson (5-5) and No. 17 Willcox (6-4) are too far back to compete for the 2A East title but the two programs are in the thick of the playoff hunt.

 

1A CONFERENCE

The top two teams from the 1A South Region will earn an automatic playoff spot to the 16-team bracket.

 

No. 3 St. David (7-0) won the 1A South title. No. 6 Bowie/San Simon (5-1) can clinch the second playoff spot with a win at No, 10 The Gregory School (4-2) on Monday, Oct. 23. No. 16 Valley Union (5-2) and The Gregory School are both still in the hunt.