THE POWER RANKINGS: Movement in the middle of this week’s Austin area volleyball rankings

Nothing to see at the top of the mountain, where top-ranked Dripping Springs cruised in their only match of the week. Behind them, Austin High survived a couple of 5-setters to Bowie and Westlake while Buda Johnson also swept, despite dropping a set to Canyon. Shaky wins, but wins nonetheless.

So, when everybody wins, The Power Rankings considers a totally subjective term, “quality of win.” Similarly, if a rated team suffers a loss, drops a set or sometimes even narrowly wins, it’s important to consider their opponent.

All of which is a just a roundabout way of delving deeper into this week’s rankings.

In the week’s most impactful match, Round Rock outlasted Vandegrift in four close sets to earn a split in their season series. As a result, Wimberley flipped spots with the Lady Vipers while Round Rock leap-frogged Weiss and Georgetown up to 8th, right behind Cedar Park and Liberty Hill. It’s tough to drop a spot after you’ve swept your opponents, as both the Lady Wolves and Lady Eagles did, but quality wins matter. And we reward the Lady Dragons for their quality win over Vandegrift, combined with a sweep of their own over Hutto,

Here’s a look at our Top 10 as of October 14th with just two and a half weeks remaining in the regular season:

VYPE's Public School Volleyball Rankings

1. (1) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) -- 39-2 (swept Bowie)

2. (2) Austin High Maroons (6A) -- 37-5 (3-2 v. Bowie, 3-2 v. Westlake)

3. (3) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) – 34-6 (swept San Marcos, 3-1 vs. Canyon)

4. (5) Wimberley Texans (4A) – 31-3 (swept Bandera, Canyon Lake)

5. (4) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) – 25-14 (Lost 3-1 @ Round Rock, swept Cedar Ridge)

6. (6) Cedar Park Timberwolves (5A) – 24-15 (swept Lockhart, Lehman)

7. (7) Liberty Hill Panthers (5A) – 34-6 (swept @ Rouse, 3-1 @ Glenn)

8. (10) Round Rock Dragons (6A) – 28-13 (3-1 vs. Vandegrift, swept Hutto)

9. (8) Weiss Wolves (5A) – 34-8 (swept East View, Elgin)

10. (9) Georgetown Eagles (5A) – 32-8 (swept Connally, East View)