Who are the top boys volleyball teams? Providence Journal Week 3 volleyball power rankings

I’m inclined to leave Division I boys volleyball rankings the same as last week's.

Vacation was a bit of a mess for the state’s top league with North Kingstown and North Smithfield falling. There aren’t any undefeated teams left, which is great, we love parity.

You’ll have to read on to see who beat who and where the cards fall this week.

Cranston West has solidified its spot at the top of Division II after continuing a perfect start with a sweep of Lincoln and Pilgrim over the break.

And D-III might have the most balance of the three leagues with five teams at a handful of wins. Ranking those clubs might be impossible, but I’ll give it my best shot.

Who else made the cut? And who dropped from this fresh batch of rankings?

Find out below!

Providence Journal Boys Volleyball Power Rankings

DIVISION I

1. North Kingstown (7-1)

The Skippers lost their first game of the season, 3-2, at the hands of North Smithfield. Normally, that would’ve dropped NK down but vacation was anything but normal. I’m going to leave NK in the top spot for another week with Classical on tap.

2. La Salle (7-1)

La Salle might’ve been the only team that got through last week unscathed and the Rams only dropped one set. The defending champs topped Hendricken, 3-1, and Chariho in a sweep. They already beat Classical (25-14, 25-21, 29-27) and have Coventry later this week.

3. North Smithfield (6-2)

This is where the rankings get wonky. The Northmen topped NK but they remain in the third slot. It’s tough, I know, you defended your home court in the decisive fifth set against the top-ranked team and don’t move up. After the triumph, NS fell to Cranston East, 3-1, really throwing the league into a tailspin.

4. Cranston East (6-2)

And now the Thunderbolts. A seven-game winning streak and still stuck in the fourth spot. The start of the year can’t be ignored (swept against La Salle and North Kingstown) and that’s how we’re here. You can be mad at me, or you can keep winning to force my hand.

5. Classical (5-3)

The Purple split vacation games with a loss to Cranston East and a sweep of East Greenwich. I’ll admit, I may have copped out with this week’s rankings. But with this much parity in the state’s top division, it’s very good for the sport. I can’t wait to find out more as we cross into May.

DIVISION II

1. Cranston West (7-0)

There’s not much more to say about the Falcons. They just keep winning. West didn’t lose a set last week and could go undefeated into a rematch with Barrington on May 2.

2. Barrington (6-1)

Barrington also rolled right along during vacation with a pair of sweeps. The Eagles downed West Warwick, 25-11, 25-13, 25-18, and Westerly, 25-17, 25-12, 25-17.

3. Lincoln (4-3)

The defending champions had quite the interesting week. After falling to the Falcons, Lincoln rebounded with a 3-1 win against East Providence. And then on Monday, the Townies returned the favor and topped the Lions 3-1.

4. East Providence (4-3)

After back-to-back losses, East Providence got past Lincoln. High school volleyball just had a weird week during vacation. EP has Pilgrim and West Warwick this week.

5. Westerly (4-3)

After a pair of 3-2 wins, Westerly fell to Barrington to stop the streak. A win against East Providence on Tuesday next week would do the Bulldogs well.

DIVISION III

1. Central Falls (5-0)

I said Division III was loaded with contenders and I wasn’t lying. All of these teams could beat each other on any given day so I did my best ranking them in an order that makes sense. Central Falls hasn’t dropped a set since the beginning of the month and that lands them at No. 1.

2. Pawtucket (5-1)

Pawtucket was the club that took a set against CF – it was a 3-2 win (25-23, 26-24- 14-25, 22-25, 15-9) for the Warriors. They’ve only dropped one set since losing that match and topped Juanita Sanchez, 3-1.

3. Juanita Sanchez (5-1)

Seeing a pecking order now? That was Juanita’s only loss of the season and the Cavaliers have wins over Portsmouth and Scituate/Prout in a really deep division. We might just need to play more games and let the clubs figure out where they fall.

4. Portsmouth (5-1)

Then there’s the Patriots with just the loss to the Cavs. Luckily for me, Portsmouth hasn’t played Pawtucket or Central Falls yet this season, because if they had and won, I’m not sure how I would rank these teams.

5. Mt. Hope (5-1)

And there’s the Huskies rounding out our five-win teams having lost to only Portsmouth, 3-2. Mt. Hope has Pawtucket on tap in the coming days to potentially make my life more difficult. If you read all the way down here, I appreciate it.

jrousseau@providencejournal.com

On X: @ByJacobRousseau

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal Week 3 boys volleyball power rankings