A volleyball 'state championship' could come a little too early
If seeds play out this weekend at the ASICS Challenge, St. Francis and Joliet Catholic could meet in the championship at Mother McAuley in a sectional preview.
That's right, I said sectional preview.
The IHSA released playoff volleyball assignments recently and in a placement that could only be described as (depending on your perspective) puzzling, frustrating or absurd St. Francis and Joliet Catholic both are in the same sectional.
In a nutshell, one of the two best teams in the Chicago area, and perhaps one of the top 10 teams in the country, won't make it out of the IHSA's round of 16.
Something does not add up.
Last year's Class 3A state tournament was already a letdown, after Joliet Catholic beat St. Francis in a three-game supersectional match. The de facto state championship, if you will.
Now the last three rounds could be little more than a coronation ceremony for the winner.
It reminds me of an idea a coaching friend of mine suggested years ago, that the IHSA reseed its state tournaments after regionals. The premise is the brackets are evened out and in theory state tournament games are more competitive.
Now I think that is a stretch. As unbalanced as the playoff brackets tip at times, there is little getting around geography. A 4A volleyball sectional last year that included Benet, Napervilles North and Central and Downers Grove South was "loaded." But those schools are located in adjacent towns. Location is location - tough break.
The St. Francis-Joliet Catholic pairing isn't the only head-scratcher in the 3A bracket. Downstate powers Belleville Althoff and Breese Mater Dei are in the same regional.
Thing is, the geographical argument that applies to the 4A example doesn't work here. This year's 3A bracket includes four sectionals within the Chicago area. Two of them - at Crete-Monee and Nazareth Academy - are about the drive for Joliet Catholic as is St. Francis.
Both of those other sectionals are chock full of Chicago Public League schools. No disrespect, but none of those teams can hold a candle to St. Francis or Joliet Catholic. In today's mentality of "everybody is a winner" a lesser sectional champion will be crowned. A bona fide will be state title contender sent home.
It isn't just about being fair to the players and coaches. At some point St. Francis and Joliet Catholic are bound to meet each other in the playoffs - they have the last three years. And the winner is not necessarily guaranteed a first-place trophy.
It's about what is best for the state of volleyball in Illinois. The competitive integrity of the state tournament, what should be the season's climax. It is what fans pay to see.
Those events are already watered down by class expansion.
Blindly selecting playoff assignments using little more than school names in a hat and an atlas is not the kind of direction the IHSA should want its postseason to go.
jwelge@dailyherald.com