March 1, 2023

One thing is for sure with the 16s division this season. While the rankings are all over the place after a recent wild Triple Crown weekend, this age group is much more competitive and deeper than it was a season ago. I felt we entered last summer in Indy with Arizona Storm and Hou Skyline as the teams to beat before Alamo surprised and won it all and Drive Nation upset Hou Skyline in the quarters. But after seeing what took place in Kansas City, this division is deeper and right now there is no real favorite. There are teams that have played more consistent than others and teams which have played more than others, but not the one or two teams that everyone else is coming for. After winning Triple Crown, Surfside ascends to the very top of the rankings. Looking at Surfside’s overall results, I felt Surfside deserves to be No. 1. We have qualifying season coming up and that will deliver a greater sample size as which to try and decipher from. Nebraska One hasn’t played many matches yet, but its only loss has come to Surfside. The next set of teams in Drive Nation, 1st Alliance, Hou Skyline, Arizona Storm, HJV and A5 have shown they are Top-10 teams – in some order. And I think the depth of the division starts to show when a team like TAV is bordering on the Top 10, as is Circle City, Mich Elite, Coast and MKE Sting. vballrecruiter.com’S TOP 50 NATIONAL RANKINGS 1. Surfside 16 PV Legends (CA) (11) 2. Nebraska One 16 Synergy (NE) (12) 3. Drive Nation 16 Red (TX) (4) 4. 1st Alliance 16 Gold (IL) (3) 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal (TX) (5) 6. HJV 16 Elite (TX) (2) 7. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (AZ) (1) 8. A5 16 Gabe (GA) (16) 9. OT 16 JP (FL) (17) 10. TAV 16 Black (TX) (6) *** 11. Circle City 16 Purple (IN) (7) 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno (MI) (8) 13. Coast 16-1 (CA) (32) 14. MKE Sting 16 Gold (WI) (9) 15. Dynasty 16 Black (KS) (20) 16. Legacy 16-1 Adidas (MI) (25) 17. Austin Skyline 16 Royal (TX) (10) 18. Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal (FL) (26) 19. AVC Cle 16 Red (OH) (28) 20. Skyline 16 Royal (TX) (27) *** 21. AVA TX 16 Adidas (TX) (n/r) 22. OT 16 Roberto (FL) (33) 23. Adidas KiVA 16 Red (KY) (24) 24. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue (IN) (14) 25. Munciana 16 Blaze (IN) (13) 26. Wave 16 Kevin (CA) (18) 27. ID Crush 16 Bower (ID) (30) 28. Madfrog 16 Green (TX) (21) 29. Team Pineapple 16 Black (IN) (15) 30. HPSTL 16 Royal (MO) (39) *** 31. Alamo 16 Premier (TX) (19) 32. KC Power 16 Black (KS) (n/r) 33. AJV 16 Adidas (TX) (34) 34. Excel 16 National Red (TX) (35) 35. Absolute 16 Black (CA) (22) 36. Northern Lights 16-1 (MN) (n/r) 37. NorCal 16-1 Black (CA) (31) 38. Co Jrs 16 Shannon (CO) (43) 39. MAVS KC 16-1 (KS) (23) 40. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami (KY) (38) *** 41. Top Select 16 Elite (FL) (36) 42. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite (MO) (41) 43. No Name 16 Sarah (FL) (n/r) 44. GP 16 Rox (FL) (40) 45. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold (NE) (n/r) 46. Illini Elite 16 Cardinal (IL) (48) 47. SA Juniors 16 Adidas (TX) (n/r) 48. Norco 16 Black (CO) (n/r) 49. AZ Sky 16G (AZ) (n/r) 50. Pitt Elite 16-1 (PA) (n/r) ON THE CUSP SA Magic 16 Elite (TX) PVA 16 Elite (KS) AZ Rev 16 Premier (AZ) (29) Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (CA) (36) OT 16 Will (FL) (37) Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (IN) (50) CJV 16 Zoe (NC) SASVBC 16-1 (HI) Club One AZ 16 Platinum (AZ) Kairos 16 Alpha (SD) FC Elite 16 Navy (WI) Tstreet 16 Naseri (CA) VCNebraska 16 Elite (NE) Mintonette Sports m.61 (OH) NPJ Seattle 16 National (WA) Tulsa Power 16-1 (OK) Six Pack 16 (IA)