By Mike Finnerty (mike.finnerty@surewestsports.com)
Next week we'll debut our 2012 girl's volleyball Top 15 rankings, and so far all the preseason and early season buzz centers around the St. Francis Troubadours.
St. Francis lost just one player (Paige Folger) from last year's Division I section championship squad, and this year's team is even deeper.
At Sunday's media dinner held at Sam's Hof Brau in Sacramento, coaches talked about their teams and even more about their frustration as it relates to the playoffs and how teams make it in.
With three teams from each league getting a spot in the playoffs, it almost certainly ensures that some of the area's top teams will not participate in postseason.
Boys Water Polo
On Wednesday, the Whitney Wildcats got a 7-6 win over crosstown rival Rocklin, but this wasn't just any win. For the Wildcats, it was their first victory since 2010 after going winless last year.
Whitney was down 4-2 at the half, but tied the score at 5-5 with 29 seconds left in the third period. With only two subs, Whitney prevailed in the final quarter to get the win.
Wildcats head coach Mike Chavez needed only a few words to summarize his team's effort to get their first win of the year, "It showed heart".
Fall coverage
Next week, SureWest Sports will begin it's normal full slate of prep sports coverage that will include girls volleyball, water polo, and more.
This week we'll see football games that include Nevada Union at Grant (Friday) and Cosumnes Oaks at Sacramento (Saturday), plus a Friday soccer match that will feature Franklin at Rio Americano.