The Waterloo volleyball team is ranked seventh in Division III by the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association. Waterloo won the Portage Trail Conference County Division.

Ranking the top volleyball teams in Summit, Medina and Portage Counties -- let alone all of Ohio -- is a highly subjective exercise.

Don Wood of Fenwick High School, however, has developed a much more objective system of doing so.

Wood's Power Rankings, in cooperation with the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association, allow coaches, players and fans to compare teams from all four divisions in the state. His formula takes into account multiple key statistical elements, including strength of schedule, head-to-head play, quality of league competition, and more.

Based on my conversations with coaches and officials over the past month, Wood's list is very accurate.

Walsh Jesuit, Stow and Wadsworth are clearly the three best teams in our area, just as they are in the Power Rankings. The local VB community, however, places either Revere or Waterloo next ahead of Medina in its top six.

Without further ado, here is how Wood stacks up the elite squads in the SportsInk.com coverage area entering the final week of the 2011 regular season.

+++ Power Rankings / Top 10 +++

1,686 - Walsh Jesuit (D-I) ... Currently 8-2 in North Coast League Blue Division

1,410 - Stow (D-I) ... Clinched Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division championship

1,294 - Wadsworth (D-I) ... Clinched Suburban League championship

1,203 - Medina (D-I) ... Tied for third in Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division

1,150 - Waterloo (D-III) ... Clinched Portage Trail Conference County Division championship

1,098 - Revere (D-II) ... Second-place finisher in Suburban League

1,022 - Hudson (D-I) ... Tied for third in Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division

1,016 - Crestwood (D-II) ... Split home-and-home series with Field

997 - Field (D-II) ... Has won 13 of last 17 matches after starting year 0-3

974 - Nordonia (D-I) ... Currently 8-5 in Suburban League

+++ Power Rankings / Teams 11-25 +++

964 - Cuyahoga Falls (D-I)

949 - CVCA (D-II)

893 - Brunswick (D-I)

830 - Twinsburg (D-I)

822 - Kent Roosevelt (D-I)

789 - Streetsboro (D-II)

768 - Tallmadge (D-II)

759 - Southeast (D-II)

725 - Our Lady of the Elms (D-IV)

677 - Highland (D-I)

672 - Copley (D-I)

670 - Manchester (D-II)

665 - Buckeye (D-II)

646 - Norton (D-II)

638 - Rootstown (D-III)

Elsewhere, in the penultimate OHSVCA state coaches poll, four local squads are ranked.

In Division I, Walsh Jesuit is listed 13th and Stow checks in 15th. Revere sits 16th in Division II, while Waterloo is seventh in Division III.