Oh, the Deer Valley Tournament. Thank you for showing us how exciting this season should be in the East Bay.

It appears the top two teams were established as Bishop O’Dowd and Campolindo looked very dominant amongst a pack of very talented teams. Bishop O’Dowd, which recently lost Nicole Danner, looks like it will be just fine. Throw Albany into the mix, and you have a very interesting situation. The Cougars might be the best team in Division III, which could make them the best team in the East Bay.
But for now, we’ll stick with the Deer Valley Tournament. With Campo and O’Dowd appearing to be the top two teams in the East Bay, we also learned that the EBAL will be as even a race as it has been in years. There could be 5-7 teams in the mix for most of the season. California could be the favorite, and San Ramon Valley is not going anywhere, but watch out for Carondelet after a strong showing. The Cougars beat SRV and Amador Valley, and had close losses to O’Dowd and Campo. Foothill was also solid at the tournament, as was AV.
We also learned that the NCS may have closed the gap on the CCS by overcoming teams like Sacred Heart Cathedral and Presentation.

Here are the results…

Pool Play

Pool A
Sacred Heart Cathedral def Las Lomas 2-0
California def Deer Valley 2-0
Sacred Heart Cathedral def Deer Valley 2-0
California def Las Lomas 2-1 (15-13)
Las Lomas def Deer Valley 2-0
Sacred Heart Cathedral def California 2-1 (16-14)

Pool B
Foothill def Presentation 2-0
Campolindo def Heritage 2-0
Presentation def Heritage 2-0
Campolindo def Foothill 2-0
Foothill def Heritage 2-1 (18-16)
Campolindo def Presentation 2-0

Pool C
Amador Valley def Palo Alto 2-1 (15-13)
Northgate def Liberty 2-0
Palo Alto def Liberty 2-0
Amador Valley def Northgate 2-1 (15-12)
Amador Valley def Liberty 2-0
Palo Alto def Northgate 2-1 ( 17-15)

Pool D
Bishop O’Dowd def Carondelet 2-0
San Ramon Valley def Salesian 2-0
Bishop O’Dowd def Salesian 2-0
Carondelet def San Ramon Valley 2-1 (15-13)
Carondelet def Salesian 2-1 (15-4)
Bishop O’Dowd def San Ramon Valley (2-0)

Bracket Play

Gold Results
Championship
Bishop O’Dowd def Campolindo

Semifinals
Bishop O’Dowd def Sacred Heart Cathedral, Campolindo def California

Quarterfinals
Campolindo def Carondelet, California def Amador Valley, Bishop O’Dowd def Foothill, Sacred Heart Cathedral def Palo Alto

Consolation Match
Palo Alto def Foothill, Carondelet def Amador Valley

Silver Bracket
Championship
Presentation def San Ramon Valley

Semifinals
Presentation def Northgate, San Ramon Valley def Liberty

Quarterfinals
Presentation def Salesian, Northgate def Deer Valley, San Ramon Valley def Heritage, Liberty def Las Lomas

Consolation
Las Lomas def Heritage, Deer Valley def Salesian

Rankings

The top two teams in the East Bay were clearly established at the Deer Valley Tournament as Bishop O’Dowd and Campolindo stood above the rest on a great day for East Bay volleyball. A possible Division III final could end up being a preview of the NorCal final. But don’t forget Albany as the defending Division III and NorCal champs are just as dangerous. Three of the top four teams are Division III teams.
The EBAL season will help sort out the rankings as Cal, Carondelet, San Ramon Valley, Foothill and Amador Valley all seemed lumped together while Granada and Monte Vista are not far behind.
Moreau Catholic and Head-Royce jump into the top 15 as both small schools are off to a very good start.

1. Bishop O’Dowd (8-3)
2. Campolindo (6-1)
3. California (5-2)
4. Albany (7-1)
5. Carondelet (3-2)
6. San Ramon Valley (4-3)
7. Foothill (4-3)
8. Amador Valley (8-5)
9. Northgate (3-3)
10. Las Lomas (3-4)
11. Granada (1-1)
12. Monte Vista (1-1)
13. St. Joseph Notre Dame (6-1)
14. Moreau Catholic (2-0)
15. Head-Royce (3-0)