AIA boys’ volleyball 2023 season preview
The Arizona Interscholastic Association boys’ volleyball season is underway, and we’ll be taking a look at the early standings, and how teams, previous champions and runners-up are doing so far this season.
6A
As of Monday, there are five undefeated teams in 6A. Maricopa, Perry and Highland are all 3-0, while Brophy and Chandler are 4-0. According to MaxPreps, Highland is the highest-ranked team in the country with no losses, sitting at No. 4. One of Brophy’s wins includes a comeback win over the defending 6A champions Sandra Day O’Connor, where Brophy was down two sets and rallied to win the next three. O’Connor is currently 2-1 and will have their work cut out for them to try and defend their title this season, as they have Highland on their schedule, which should be a good test for both teams. Perry, the 6A runners-up from last year has started the season off well. They weren’t able to avenge their loss to O’Connor, as they were defeated by the Eagles in the Wolf Howl Boys tournament, but they will have plenty of chances to prove themselves, as they have Brophy and Chandler on their schedule twice along with Highland and 5A powerhouse Casteel.
5A
There are six undefeated teams in the 5A division. Cienega and Verrado are both 3-0, while Ironwood, Raymond S. Kellis, Casteel and Catalina Foothills are all 4-0. Cienega hasn’t given any reason as to why they’re not capable of repeating once again, as they have a favorable schedule ahead of them and are scheduled to play Catalina Foothills twice, the only team on their schedule still undefeated. The 5A runners-up from last season, Gilbert, were promoted to the 6A Central division, and are currently 1-1. They’ll get to face Highland twice and Casteel and Sandra Day O’Connor once, giving them tons of opportunities to show people that the move up was the right call. The highest-ranked team in 5A is Casteel, who sits at No. 12 in MaxPreps countrywide rankings, ranking as the second-best team in Arizona.
4A
There are several teams that are undefeated in 4A. Valley Christian, Northwest Christian, Salpointe Catholic, Flowing Wells, Arizona College Prep, Eastmark, Marcos de Niza, Mesquite, Odyssey Institute, Prescott, Thunderbird, Deer Valley and Agua Fria are all of the teams that have played at least a game and won. Marcos de Niza and Thunderbird sport the most wins out of the bunch, having four. The defending 4A Champions and runners-up, ALA Queen Creek and ALA Gilbert North, both made the move up to 5A this season, playing out of the Independent Region. ALA Queen Creek lost its first game to Ironwood, but still has a lot of the season to go, including matchups with Arizona College Prep, Eastmark and Salpointe, who are all undefeated in 4A, and a 4A championship rematch with ALA Gilbert North. ALA Gilbert North is 3-0 in non-section AIA games and will look to carry that momentum for the rest of the season, as it also has Arizona College Prep and Eastmark on its schedule. The highest-ranked team according to MaxPreps is Arizona College Prep, as it is ranked at No. 45 in the country.
The AIA rankings for all sections will be available on March 28, 2023, at noon at azpreps365.com.