No. 1 easy to Peg

With history-making St. Francis coach Peg Kopec and the Spartans taking care of St. Charles East on Saturday, the top spot on our weekly girls volleyball rankings was easy to determine. Look for more movement in the other spots as conference play begins to heat up.

10. Aurora Central Catholic. New coach Jeanne Czipri hopes St. Francis transfer Vivian Fitzgerald helps the Chargers (11-22 last season) make inroads in the new Suburban Christian Conference.

9. Aurora Christian. The Eagles have been solid in non-conference play, sporting a 5-3 mark entering their home Suburban Christian Conference debut against Immaculate Conception.

8. Kaneland. The Knights have plenty of balance but will likely need to have a couple players emerge as all-conference performers if they’re going to survive a rugged WSC slate.

7. Batavia. The new-look Bulldogs saw first-hand against DeKalb how tough it will be to excel against the conference’s upper-tier teams.

6. Rosary. The Lindsey Weber-led Royals might need a month or so to successfully weave a big pack of newcomers into the lineup.

5. Burlington Central. The Rockets were way off their game at the Geneva Invitational but still have enough talent and leadership to win 20-plus matches.

4. St. Charles North. The North Stars enjoyed a solid tournament at Plainfield North last weekend and got off to a strong UEC start with a win against Bartlett.

3. Geneva. Aside from a humbling loss to powerhouse Joliet Catholic in the Geneva Invitational title match, the Vikings have been pretty sharp.

2. St. Charles East. A weekend loss to St. Francis showed the defending state champs there is much work ahead if a title defense is in the cards.

1. St. Francis. Hall of Fame coach Peg Kopec is on the verge of 1,000 career wins, and it looks like she has a vintage Spartans team with which to add to the total.