Top-ranked Sussex Hamilton wins team of the week honor again in boys volleyball rankings

AREA RANKINGS

Team (W-L), last week

1. Sussex Hamilton (26-4), 1

2. Arrowhead (29-4), 2

3. Marquette (22-5), 3

4. Westosha Central (25-1), 5

5. Waukesha Fusion (26-6), 4

6. Catholic Memorial (21-11), 6

7. South Milwaukee United (18-5), 9

8. Franklin (24-9), 8

9. Pewaukee (20-8), 10

10. Wilmot (20-10), –

Others considered: Cedarburg (20-19), Germantown (17-12), Kettle Moraine (13-17), Kenosha Indian Trail (16-13), Mukwonago (12-11), New Berlin United (14-11), Nicolet (15-9), Waukesha West (21-17), Wauwatosa East (18-13) and Whitefish Bay (12-8)

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sussex Hamilton

It feels like every week, the choice for team of the week comes down to two programs: Westosha Central and Sussex Hamilton. Both teams won another weekend tournament with the Falcons winning the Homestead Invite and the Chargers taking the Arrowhead Invite. The edge for this week's honor goes to the Chargers after a week in which they went 5-0 at the Arrowhead Invite with wins over Sun Prairie West (25-7, 25-19) and Union Grove (25-23, 25-15) in pool play and then defeated Madison West (25-11, 25-12), Wilmot (25-16, 25-12) and finally host Arrowhead (25-20, 25-12) in the championship match. They won all 10 games they played with a plus-103 point differential. Since Sept. 7, the Chargers have dropped just two matches, one of those in tournament play.

COMING UP

All matches scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday unless otherwise noted.

Arrowhead at Marquette, 7 p.m. Tuesday: Two programs that have state championship aspirations will face off in some late-season non-conference play with the Warhawks heading to Marquette. Marquette holds a 2-1 edge in their meetings this season. It may not be the last time these powerhouses see each other with the playoffs right around the corner.

Kenosha Bradford at Franklin, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday: With a victory at home, the Sabers can win the Southeast Conference title outright. A loss would open the door for defending Kenosha Indian Trail to steal a share of the title. A state qualifier in 2022, Franklin has won 10 of its last 13 matches, while the Red Devils have dropped seven of nine.

Nicolet at Cedarburg: With a victory, Nicolet can win the North Shore Conference title outright. It would cap a remarkable turnaround for the Knights after a 2022 season in which they went 0-8 in North Shore play and 3-22 overall. The Knights are 5-1 in the conference with the other five programs all suffering at least three losses.

Sussex Hamilton at Wauwatosa East: It's hard to find a better or hotter team in the state right now than Sussex Hamilton. Since a 1-3 start to the season, the Chargers have gone 25-1. That's absurd, especially when you factor in the fact that their four losses this season are to three of the top six programs (Arrowhead, Marquette and Middleton) in the most recent statewide coaches poll. Wauwatosa East is a solid program that qualified for state last season.

Waukesha Fusion at Catholic Memorial: It's simple for the Fusion on Wednesday. Beat the defending state champion on the road, win the Classic 8 Conference title. It won't be an easy task. The Crusaders can't win the title, but they're a talented side that's tough to deal with in any setting. Just look at the run they made to the state title last season. However, Waukesha has won eight of its last 10 matches across all competitions.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sussex Hamilton wins team honor again in area boys volleyball rankings