After a week out of the volleyball state coaches’ poll, Berkshire returned this week, slotting in at 18th in Division V. The Badgers earned 24 points and are the fifth team in their district pool in the poll, behind Girard (13th in the poll), Columbiana (14th) and Elyria Catholic (15th). The Badgers were 4-1 last week, including a four-set win over Crestwood, which was in the D-IV state poll last week. The lone loss came to Perry in the championship match of the Pirate Invitational. They have three big contests this week with a home match against Kirtland before road matches with Cardinal and Smithville. The former two are critical contests in the CVC Valley championship race while the game against the Smithies is a battle of state-ranked teams. While the Badgers jumped into the state poll, VASJ’s stay ended after a week. The Vikings (13-2) have a challenge against Independence, which is 11th in the D-VI state poll, on Oct. 1. Lake Catholic remains atop the D-V state poll, ahead of fellow district pool member Columbiana Crestview. The Cougars received 314 points and 25 first-place votes to the Rebels’ 265 points and five first-place votes. The Cougars have won four straight. Their closing stretch features games with Elyria Catholic, Magnificat and NDCL, all of which are state-ranked. Gilmour also remains atop the D-III state poll, ahead of Hoban. The Lancers earned 319 points and received 24 first-place votes to the Knights’ 293 points and eight first-place votes. The Lancers’ next three contests — St. Joseph Academy, Seton and Roger Bacon — are all state-ranked opponents. They’ve dropped five sets this season, and already have a sweep over the Jaguars on their 15-1 record. Mentor remains 12th in the D-I poll, as one of the four teams in their district pool but the only one not in the top five. The Cardinals have won six in a row, only dropping two sets in those wins. The Cardinals travel to Brunswick on Oct. 10 in a de facto GCC championship game, as they look for back-to-back championships. NDCL moved up one spot in the D-III state poll to seventh as it earned 103 points. The Lions picked up a victory over Jackson, which is fifth in the D-I state poll, but fell to Elyria Catholic in four sets. In the final week of the season, the Lions have the Mentor two-step, with back-to-back games against Lake Catholic and the Cardinals. In one of the more surprising moves of the week in the state poll, Kenston, which has won six in a row, dropped from 11th to a tie for 18th in the state poll. The Bombers also swept Ursuline, which is 15th in the poll. Also of note, Perry, Kirtland and Cornerstone Christian have better records than several of the teams that earned points in their respective divisions.