Basha and Kianna Gonsalves are one of 37 AZ teams competing at this week's Nike TOC VB (AzPreps365 photo)

 

The 9th annual Nike Tournament of Champions Girls Volleyball Invite is ready to roll Friday Sept. 29 and Saturday Sept. 30 at three venues in the East Valley (Tempe) and Phoenix.

ASU's Sun Devil Fitness Center and Court One and Salvation Army Kroc Center in Phoenix are the sites. Seventy-four teams -- half of them Arizona schools -- are entered. Friday's action consists of pool play with Saturday's competition shifting to bracket play. 

Matches begin Friday at 10:30 a.m. at all sites and end between 5 and 6 p,m. Bracket play commences Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at all sites.Teams that finish first or second in the A through H pools on Friday advance to the top two brackets -- Platinum (elite) and Gold with a cross-over match deciding placement in Platinum or Gold. There are seven other brackets -- Sliver, Bronze, Diamond, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby and Pearl.

Six teams entered are currently in MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings. They are: #1 Walton (Marietta, GA.); #4 Corona del Sol; #5 Oviedo FL; #9 Santa Margarita, CA; #11 Baylor (Chatanooga, TN) and Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA). Eight of Arizona's current top-10, power-ranked teams in 6A is competing in the tournament.

There are 18 pools. Here are the pool assignments with pools and Arizona schools in bold:

Pool A - Walton, Bishop Gorman, Mesa High, Hudson Catholic. Pool B - Corona del Sol, Baylor, Horizon, Summit. Pool C - Santa Margarita, Hamilton, American Fork, Chaparral. Pool D - Mater Dei, Mountain Pointe, Boca Raton, The Bishop's School. Pool E - Oviedo, Millennium, Notre Dame Prep, Shadow Ridge. Pool F -- Marymount, Basha, St. Thomas Aquinas, North Forsyth. Pool G - Xavier Prep, Leon, Sacred Heart Academy, Beckman. Pool H - Pope John Paull II, Cox Mill, O'Connor, Queen Creek. Pool J - Valley Christian, Valencia, Pinnacle, Brighton. Pool K - South Salem, Campo Verde, Coconino, Maranatha. Pool L - Cheyenne East, Desert Vista, Rio Rancho, Acalanes. Pool M - Ironwood Ridge, Flagstaff, Sage Hill, Enumclaw. Pool N - Seton Catholic, Rincon, Faith Lutheran, Moreno Valley. Pool O - Eastlake, Santa Fe Christian, Mesquite, Tempe Prep. Pool P - Country Christian, Pacific Ridge, Desert Mountain, Casteel. Pool Q - Olympian, Deer Valley, Chandler, St. Margaret's Episcopa. Pool R -- Arcadia, Sabino, Rancho, Goldwater, Dobson. Pool S - Thatcher, Thunderbird, Morenci, Skyline, Leading Edge. 

For complete schedules, brackets, results and other tournament information go to: http://www.niketournamentofchampions.com.