With the 2024-25 school year rapidly approaching, fall sports are preparing to kick off another year of high school sports in the 209. Girls volleyball is one of those sports gearing up to show that San Joaquin County has some of the best teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
Last season, two blue banners were brought back to the area and St. Mary’s and Ripon Christian girls' volleyball teams won SJS Division 1 and 4 championships, respectively. The Knights took things even further bulldozing their way through the CIF State Girls Volleyball Division III playoff bracket and were the lone SJ County team to win a State Championship last year.
This year, teams have a revitalized chance to create some postseason magic of their own as the 2024-25 girls’ volleyball season is set to start on Aug. 23. The Record has you covered with teams and players to keep an eye out for this year as we curated a Preseason Top 10 SJ County Girls Volleyball Teams heading into the new season.
This list will include teams from the San Joaquin Athletic Association, Western Athletic Conference, Valley Oak, Tri-City Athletic, Southern Athletic, and Trans Valley leagues.
1. Ripon Christian (37-5, 14-0 SAL)
Summary: Doing what no other SJ County team could do last year landed Ripon Chrisitan in the number one spot heading into this season. The Knights were nearly unstoppable running through the SAL for an undefeated league finish. That carried over into the playoffs as they rarely lost any sets during the postseason sweeping Ripon in the SJS Division 4 championship game and Redwood in the CIF State Division III championship matches.
Top returners:
Brynn Bohn, junior, middle blocker/opposite side hitter
2023-24 stats: 24.5% hitting percentage (11th in SJS DV), 22 total blocks, 116 kills
Anneke Dyt, senior, defensive specialist
2023-24 stats: 21 aces, 34 digs, 35 receptions
2. St. Mary’s (32-3, 10-0 TCAL)
Summary: The Rams were on point all season long last year finishing with the best record of any other 209 team. They only dropped three games all year including their season finale against Foothill in the opening round of the CIF State Open Division Girls Volleyball playoffs. Leading St. Mary’s throughout the season was an incoming sophomore Mcjenna Mcintosh who had the most lethal attack of any player mentioned in the Top 10.
Top returners:
McKenna McIntosh, sophomore, outside hitter
2023-24 stats: 4.7 kills per set, 425 kills (5th in SJS), 34.7% hitting percentage (13th in SJS), 50 aces, 29 total blocks
Eliana Williams, junior, middle blocker/ middle hitter
2023-24 stats: 40 total blocks, 174 kills, 50.3% hitting percentage (highest on the team)
3. Ripon (30-7, 10-0 TVL)
Summary: Ripon was right there last season just three sets away from the SJS Division 4 championship. The Indians couldn’t get past crosstown rivals Ripon Christian getting swept 3-0 in the championship match. This go-round they will look to their key returners to help them get back in the playoffs. The most notable returner is junior outside hitter Adriana Dorn who led Ripon’s offense last year.
Top returners:
Adriana Dorn, junior, outside hitter
2023-24 stats: 307 kills (1st in TVL), 409 receptions, 3.3 kills per set, 25.7% hitting percentage, 86 aces
Amelia Lara, senior, defensive specialist
2023-24 stats: 3.2 digs per set, 256 digs, 327 receptions
Olivia Neuman, junior, middle blocker
2023-24 stats: 33 total blocks (most on team), 35 kills
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4. Lodi (20-11, 8-2 TCAL)
Summary: The Flames made a deep run in the postseason last season earning them a spot in the top five of the preseason rankings. They ended the year in the semifinals of the SJS Division 2 playoffs losing to reigning champs Granite Bay 3-1. Lodi did enough to still punch its ticket to the State playoffs and will look to do the same this go-round and then some with some key returners.
Top returners:
Mariah Azua, senior, Libero/defensive specialist
2023-24: Two digs per set, 117 digs, 179 receptions
Grace Culler, senior, setter
2023-24 stats: 289 assists (3rd in TCAL), close to one ace per set, 34 aces
Karis Mann, senior, outside hitter
2023-24 stats: 1.6 kills per set, 96 kills, 37 digs
5. Escalon (19-10, 8-2 TVL)
Summary: The Cougars were yet another area team to make a deep run in the playoffs putting them at No. 5 in the preseason rankings. They made it to the quarterfinals of the SJS Division 3 playoffs last season losing to Beyer 3-1. This season they will have a handful of incoming seniors returning the most notable being Lisa Murga. The senior middle blocker led her team in blocks as a junior being the core of its defense.
Top returners:
Chloe Fraser, senior, outside hitter
2023-24 stats: Close to two kills per set, 143 kills (2nd most on the team)
Lisa Murga, senior, middle blocker
2023-24 stats: 74 total blocks (12th in SJS), close to two kills per set, 24.8% hitting percentage, 141 kills, 57 aces
Karisa Mcneil, senior, setter
2023-24 stats: 352 assists, 47 aces, 31 kills, 178 digs
6. Bear Creek (18-10, 13-1 SJAA)
Summary: Throughout SJAA play, there weren't many teams to catch the Bruins on a bad day. They ran through the league only dropping one match to Franklin and coming away with a league championship. Bear Creek couldn’t carry that success over into the postseason though losing in the first round of the SJS Division 2 playoffs to Roseville. With a lot of seniors gone from last season, the Bruins will look to rebuild this year.
Top returners:
Brianna Kelly, junior, defensive specialist
2023-24 stats: 79 digs, three digs per match
7. Sierra (20-10, 7-3 VOL)
Summary: The Timberwolves had a solid season last year winning 20 games and finishing in second place of the VOL. They landed a spot in the SJS Division 3 playoffs and faced Vanden in the first round but would go on to lose a heartbreaker to the Vikings, 3-2. This season, Sierra will look to continue to be a threat in the VOL and have that translate to success in the postseason.
Top returners:
Ellis Denny, junior, outside hitter/opposite side hitter
2023-24 stats: 2.1 digs per set, 118 digs, 16 aces
Sophia Threet, senior, setter
2023-24 stats: 289 assists (most on the team), 40 aces, 31 kills
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8. Manteca (17-11, 7-3 VOL)
Summary: Similar to Sierra, Manteca suffered a close loss in the first round of the SJS Division 3 playoffs losing to Vista del Lago 3-2. The Buffaloes did all they could to keep their season alive with a host of offensive weapons, such as returning junior setter Riley Ward who recorded over 300 assists. Ward and the rest of the Buffaloes squad will look to get over the first-round hump this season.
Top returners:
Nicole Ayala, senior, Libero
2023-24 stats: 4.6 digs per set, 398 digs (14th in SJS), 53 aces, 81 assists
Riley Ward, junior, setter
2023-24 stats: 310 assists (3rd in VOL), 30 aces, 123 digs
9. Linden (15-3, 11-3 SJAA)
Summary: The Lions ended last season in second place in the SJAA only dropping three league matches. That helped punch their ticket to the SJS Division 3 playoffs where they faced a tough Central Catholic squad. They were swept, ending the season. This time around Linden will look to replace some of its outside hitters and rebuild to get back into the playoff conversation.
Top returners:
Lily Alonso, senior, Libero
2023-24 stats: 139 receptions, 117 digs, 24 aces, 1.6 digs per set
Avery Johnson, senior, outside hitter/opposite side hitter
2023-24 stats: Close to two kills per set, 130 total kills, 13 total blocks
10. Franklin (24-18, 10-4)
Summary: Securing the final spot in the Record’s Top 10 Preseason rankings are the Yellowjackets who claimed the final playoff qualifying spot from the SJAA last year. A key reason behind their solid season was incoming senior Joyce Zamudio. She led Franklin in just about every stat but couldn’t get it past Enochs in the SJS Division 1 playoff first round where the Yellowjackets would lose 3-1.
Top returners:
Nicole Belasco, sophomore, middle blocker
2023-24 stats: 64 total blocks, 84 kills, 16 aces
Joyce Zamudio, senior, outside hitter
2023-24 stats: 227 kills (1st in SJAA), 104 aces (7th in SJS), 362 digs, 2.5 kills per set, 353 receptions
Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton-area girls volleyball: Top 10 volleyball teams ahead of the 2024-25 season
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