Leesville Road may have came up just short in the 4A state championship game, but it finished the year in first place in the News & Observer area volleyball rankings.

Cardinal Gibbons (21-2), which won the 3A state championship, had a similar winning percentage as Leesville Road (27-1), but we’ll keep the Pride at No. 1 as they proved their worth by staying perfect despite a tough nonconference schedule that included a head-to-head sweep of Gibbons.

Four of No. 3 Wakefield’s (20-5) five losses came to Leesville Road, while No. 4 Chapel Hill (24-6) lost three of four match-ups against Gibbons and also dropped two matches to 4A East runner-up Wilmington Hoggard.

Green Hope (19-4) is ranked one spot ahead of Apex (18-4) despite the latter winning the conference title one game ahead of Green Hope. The Falcons were the better team by the end of the year -- they won the second of their two head-to-head match-ups. It’s the same reasoning as to why No. 8 Riverside (19-5) is ranked one spot ahead of No. 9 Jordan (26-7).

Private-school 2A champ St. David’s was nearly flawless this year and gets the nod at No. 7.

An impressive run through a tough 2A state playoff bracket earned South Granville a final ranking in the top 10.

Person (16-5) is a solid No. 11, as the Rockets lost to four teams ranked ahead of them but swept three other teams ahead of them. No. 12 Triton (27-3) and No. 13 Garner (22-4) were perfect in conference play but suffered early playoff exits.

Raleigh Charter (22-4) landed a spot at No. 14 thanks to its runner-up finish in the 1A title game.

No. 15 Durham Academy (21-6) distinguished itself from other good NCISAA teams by winning its conference, which includes North Raleigh Christian Academy and Cary Academy.