The PSAL seeding committee has spoken.
On Monday, the seeds for the PSAL Class A volleyball were released and they’re very similar to my mock ones from last night. Here’s what the committee came up with:
1. Francis Lewis
2. Susan Wagner
3. Cardozo
4. Stuyvesant
5. Midwood
6. Brooklyn Tech
7. John F. Kennedy
8. McKee/Staten Island Tech
9. Hunter College HS
10. Tottenville
11. Columbus
12. Bronx Science
13. Bryant
14. Townsend Harris
15. Long Island City
16. LaGuardia
17. Edison
18. New Utrecht
19. Forest Hills
20. Academy of American Studies
21. Flushing
22. Franklin K. Lane
23. Brandeis
24. Boys & Girls
25. Info Tech
26. Lab Museum
27. Washington Irving
Here’s the first-round schedule for York College on Saturday:
9 a.m. – No. 16 LaGuardia vs. No. 17 Edison (winner plays No. 1 Lewis)
10 a.m. – No. 9 Hunter College HS vs. No. 24 Boys & Girls
11 a.m. – No. 8 McKee/Staten Island Tech vs. No. 25 Info Tech
12 p.m. – No. 13 Bryant vs. No. 20 Academy of American Studies (winner plays No. 4 Stuyvesant)
1 p.m. – No. 12 Bronx Science vs. No. 21 Flushing (winner plays No. 5 Midwood
2 p.m. – No. 15 Long Island City vs. No. 18 New Utrecht (winner plays No. 2 Susan Wagner)
3 p.m. – No. 10 Tottenville vs. No. 23 Brandeis
4 p.m. – No. 7 John F. Kennedy vs. No. 26 Lab Museum
5 p.m. – No. 14 Townsend Harris vs. No. 19 Forest Hills (winner plays No. 3 Cardozo)
6 p.m. – No. 11 Columbus vs. No. 22 Franklin K. Lane
7 p.m. – No. 27 Washington Irving vs. No. 6 Brooklyn Tech
The first thing that jumps out at me in this draw is that it’s much deeper than last year. In 2008, No. 7 Lehman lost to No. 26 Lane in the first round. You think Kennedy is going to let the same thing happen? No way. The top 10 is much more solid than it was last year, but also a lot more even.
The quarterfinals have a chance to be extremely competitive. If all the seeds hold up, the quarterfinals will be: Lewis-MSIT, Wagner-Kennedy, Cardozo-Brooklyn Tech and Stuyvesant-Midwood. I’m loving that.
Of course, I don’t think those seeds will hold serve. I know I said last night I didn’t foresee many upsets. I changed my mind.
A team like Hunter at No. 9 is ripe for the plucking. The Headhunters are seeded too high. There’s no way they should be above Tottenville (10), which beat Hunter in pool play at the Cardozo tournament and just had an all-around better year in tourneys. I don’t want to hear that Hunter is a division winner and Tottenville is a third-place team either – Townsend Harris is seeded above LIC. Columbus (11) and Bronx Science (12) should also be ahead of Hunter.
Science is actually my dark horse candidate to make the semifinals. The Wolverines will likely face No. 5 Midwood – the team they beat last weekend at the Kennedy tournament – in the second round. That very well could be a victory. If Science can beat Stuyvesant in the quarters, which isn’t an outlandish proposition, it could be sitting pretty in the semis.
How about Columbus and Lane meeting in the first round in the battle of 2008 Cinderellas? If the Knights can get by the Explorers, they could meet division rival Brooklyn Tech in the second round. They took a set off the Engineers in the regular season. Could make for a scary proposition for coach Rosanne D’Augusta’s girls.
Any way you slice it, things are going to be exciting this weekend at York and in the quarters (Nov. 18 at Hunter), semis (Nov. 20 at Hunter) and the final (Nov. 24 at Hunter). Stay tuned to NYPost.com every step of the way.
