Lewis-Palmer, the defending 4A volleyball champion, heads the preseason ranking in that class. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Rampart, Lewis-Palmer, Manitou Springs, Resurrection Christian and Fleming are the preseason No. 1 volleyball teams in their respective classifications.
CHSAANow.com's preseason poll was released on Monday, and three of last year's champions are atop the rankings. Those are Lewis-Palmer, Resurrection Christian and Fleming.
Rampart, which received eight of the 11 first-place votes, heads the Class 5A poll. The Rams made the state tournament last season, where they went 1-1 in pool play. They return a number of top players from that team.
Cherokee Trail is No. 2 to start the year, and is followed by No. 3 Fossil Ridge, No. 4 Grandview — the defending champion — and No. 5 Cherry Creek.
Pine Creek is sixth, Eaglecrest is seventh, Legend is eighth, Arapahoe is ninth and Mountain Vista rounds out the ranking.
Lewis-Palmer heads 4A. Ponderosa is No. 2, and Air Academy, last year's runner-up, is third.
Manitou Springs is on top of the 3A ranking, just ahead of defending champ Eaton. Manitou was runner-up last season.
Resurrection Christian leads 2A, while Fleming is on top of 1A.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, polls will be released each Monday.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
CHSAANow.com Volleyball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
| Class 5A | ||
|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Rampart (8) | 105 |
| 2 | Cherokee Trail | 87 |
| 3 | Fossil Ridge (1) | 71 |
| 4 | Grandview (2) | 65 |
| 5 | Cherry Creek | 54 |
| 6 | Pine Creek | 51 |
| 7 | Eaglecrest | 38 |
| 8 | Legend | 34 |
| 9 | Arapahoe | 24 |
| 10 | Mountain Vista | 19 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||
| Regis Jesuit 12, Liberty 8, Highlands Ranch 7, ThunderRidge 7, Douglas County 5, Fairview 4, Castle View 3, Fruita Monument 3, Monarch 3, Rock Canyon 3, Coronado 2. | ||
| Class 4A | ||
|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Lewis-Palmer (8) | 89 |
| 2 | Ponderosa | 73 |
| 3 | Air Academy | 64 |
| 4 | Cheyenne Mountain (1) | 63 |
| 5 | Elizabeth | 43 |
| 6 | Longmont | 37 |
| 7 | Montrose | 34 |
| 8 | Pueblo West | 30 |
| 9 | Valor Christian | 25 |
| 10 | Thomas Jefferson | 10 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||
| Windsor 7, Berthoud 4, Holy Family 3, Niwot 3, Roosevelt 3, Woodland Park 3, Durango 2, Mullen 2, Thompson Valley 2, Palmer Ridge 1. | ||
| Class 3A | ||
|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Manitou Springs (5) | 74 |
| 2 | Eaton (2) | 70 |
| 3 | Bayfield | 60 |
| 4 | Valley | 54 |
| 5 | Platte Valley | 50 |
| 6 | University | 41 |
| 7 | Sterling | 35 |
| 8 | Lutheran | 19 |
| 9 | St. Mary's | 12 |
| 10 | Colorado Springs Christian | 11 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||
| Gunnison 4, Machebeuf 3, Faith Christian 2, Lamar 2, Coal Ridge 1, Pagosa Springs 1, The Academy 1. | ||
| Class 2A | ||
|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Resurrection Christian (5) | 50 |
| 2 | Lyons | 42 |
| 3 | Akron | 30 |
| 4 | Fowler | 28 |
| 5 | Meeker | 24 |
| 6 | Ridgway | 23 |
| 7 | Yuma | 21 |
| 8 | Caliche | 17 |
| 9 | Paonia | 15 |
| 10 | Dayspring Christian | 10 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||
| Swink 5, Vail Christian 1. | ||
| Class 1A | ||
|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Fleming (3) | 48 |
| 2 | Sangre de Cristo (2) | 44 |
| 3 | Otis | 42 |
| 4 | Idalia | 35 |
| 5 | Eads | 28 |
| 6 | Flagler | 24 |
| 7 | Kit Carson | 19 |
| 8 | Hi-Plains | 13 |
| 9 | Weldon Valley | 10 |
| 10 | Edison | 6 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||
| Cheraw 2, Liberty/Stratton 2, Heritage Christian 1, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 1. | ||