Powerzonevb.com Week Six Top 10 Rankings

powerzonevb.com Week Six Top 10

Week 6 Top 10

1. East Brunswick
2. St. Josephs
3. Old Bridge
4. Southern
5. Fair Lawn
6. Don Bosco
7. Lakeland
8. Eastern
9. Peter’s Prep
10. West Windsor-Plainsboro South.

1. East Brunswick (17-2). Preseason rank: 3. Week One: 2. Week Two: 2. Week Three: 2. Week Four: 3. Last Week: 4. The Bears become the latest team to take over the top spot after beating the previous No. 1, St. Joseph’s in a three-gamer on Monday. They await the results of Tuesday’s game between St. Joes and Old Bridge to find out their seeding for the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.

2. St. Joseph’s (20-2). Preseason rank: 2. Week One: 1. Week Two: 1. Week Three: 1. Week Four: 1. Last Week: 1. The Falcons suffered their first loss to a New Jersey team on Monday when they were beaten by East Brunswick.

3. Old Bridge (19-3). Preseason rank: 6. Week One: 5. Week Two: 5. Week Three: 5. Week Four: 2. Last Week: 3. With the way the top four teams have been playing musical chairs, it’s very possible the Knights could take over the top spot on Tuesday by beating St. Joseph’s. A victory in that match would mean they’ve beaten East Brunswick, St. Joes and Southern in their most recent meetings with those teams. If they lose, the stay right where the are.

4. Southern (24-4). Preseason rank: 1. Week One: 6. Week Two: 6. Week Three: 6. Week Four: 6. Last Week: 2. The Rams dropped a three-gamer to Old Bridge in the final of their tournament on May 6. They beat Williamstown 25-15, 25-10 on Thursday.

5. Fair Lawn (17-3). Preseason rank: 5. Week One: 3. Week Two: 3. Week Three: 3. Week Four: 4. Last Week: 5. The Cutters have rebounded from a tough day at the Super Six Showcase with five straight wins, including a 25-14, 26-24 victory over Livingston on Tuesday.

6. Don Bosco Prep (15-0). Preseason rank: unranked. Week One: unranked. Week Two: unranked. Week Three: 10. Week Four: 10. Last Week: 7. The Ironmen continued their rise with an 18-25, 26-24, 25-23 victory over Montclair on Monday.

7. Lakeland (15-2). Preseason rank: unranked (teams to watch). Week One: unranked. Week Two: unranked. Week Three: unranked. Week Four: unranked. Last Week: 8. The Lancers haven’t lost since a 1-2 start in the first week of the season. They handled Passaic, 25-16, 26-24 on Wednesday in the Passaic County Tournament semifinals.

8. Eastern (18-3). Preseason rank: 7. Week One: 4. Week Two: 4. Week Three: 4. Week Four: 5. Last Week: 9. Brian Bertucci had 7 kills and three blocks as the Vikings beat Moorestown 25-15, 25-14 on Thursday.

9. St. Peters Prep (20-2). Preseason rank: unranked (teams to watch). Week One: 9. Week Two: 9. Week Three: 8. Week Four: 8. Last Week: 10. The Marauders host their tournament today, with a field that includes No. 2. St. Josephs.

10. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (12-5). Preseason rank: unranked. Week One: unranked. Week Two: unranked. Week Three: unranked. Week Four: unranked. Last Week: unranked (teams to watch). The Pirates beat Bridgewater-Raritan on Thursday, May 4. Bridgewater beat last week’s No. 6 team, CBA, on Thursday.

Teams to watch: Wayne Valley (big win over Clifton in Passaic semis on Wednesday. They face No. 7 Lakeland in the final tonight at Clifton); Bridgewater-Raritan (defending champs likely clinched a state tournament berth with 25-17, 25-18 win over CBA on Thursday); J.P. Stevens (likely to earn fourth seed in highly competitive GMC tournament); Clifton (reached Passaic County semis before slipping against Wayne Valley); Passaic (the other Passaic County semifinalist).

NOTES
All’s Wellington: Add Lakeland coach Russ Kniewel to the Wellington Perez fan club. Perez had 23 kills and 3 aces against the Lancers in Lakeland’s 13-25, 25-20, 25-18 victory over Newark East Side on Thursday. He also had 19 kills in East Side’s 25-21, 25-12 win over West Essex on Tuesday.
“I’ll tell you what, I wouldn’t want to play them (Newark East Side) again,’’ Kniewel said. “That team is going to be a tough out in the state tournament. Out of the players I’ve seen, he’s the best player in North Jersey, he can do everything – serve, pass, block and hit. The way we beat them was we didn’t serve him.’’
Fred Siegle is the communications editor and reporter for powerzonevb.com. <fsiegle@powerzonevb.com>