Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

The Carterville Lady Lions finish the 2021 season as the number one team in our Section618.com Deep South Volleyball Coaches’ Poll.

The Lady Lions finished the season 34-6, setting a school record for wins as well as winning the program’s first sectional championship, before falling to Breese Mater Dei in the Nashville 2A Supersectional. Carterville received 9 of the 11 first place votes, with Centralia grabbing the other two. The Annies finished 33-3 and ranked second, ahead of Nashville, Fairfield, and Pinckneyville.

NCOE, the other area team to win a sectional title advance to the Supers, leads the second five and is the top-ranked 1A school. Woodlawn, Du Quoin, Hamilton County, and Carmi-White County round out the rest of the top 10.

Massac County, Herrin, and Grayville also received votes.

Here is the complete poll:

Rank Team Class Pts 1st Record Prev Ranking
1 Carterville (2A) 108 (9) 34-6 2
2 Centralia (3A) 94 (2) 33-3 1
3 Nashville (2A) 90 32-6 3
4 Fairfield (2A) 72 30-7 4
5 Pinckneyville (2A) 69 24-7 4
6 NCOE (1A) 66 35-4 6
7 Woodlawn (1A) 45 27-8 7
8 Du Quoin (2A) 29 17-12-1 8
9 Hamilton Co. (2A) 21 26-12 9
10 Carmi-White Co. (2A) 10 23-14 NR

Others receiving votes: Massac Co. (2A) 5, Herrin (3A) 4, Grayville (1A) 3