The high seeds had their way in the opening round of the 2014 Division I volleyball tournament. That's no surprise.

Seven of the eight high seeds prevailed with only No. 11 Horizon knocking off a higher seed in No. 6 Centennial. No huge upset there as Horizon has been a final-four-or-better participant each of the last six years with three titles to its credit be it D-I, D-II or 5A-II.

Here's a look at the quarterfinal matchups and predicted outcomes for each team through the title match on Wednesday Nov. 12 at Mesquite High School:

No. 8 Mountain Pointe at No. 1 Desert Vista: These Ahwatukee rivals have met three times this season with Desert Vista prevailng in all three -- -2-0 twice in invitationals and 3-1 in a power-ranking match two weeks ago. Mountain Pointe has enjoyed its moments this seaosn, but they haven't come against Desert Vista. Six of Mountain Pointe's nine starting rotation players are freshmen or sophomores. Coach Karen Gray says inconsistency occasionally bites her team, but when they are on they can be awesome. The Pride defeated Hamilton and Gilbert in matches this season for the first time in a long time. Coach Molly West calls this the best team she's coached in her nearly two decades at Desert Vista. Desert Vista is deep, never suffers on the attack regardless of its lineup and plays exceptional defense. The Thunder don't have one or two attackers who dominate. They spread it around with seven players possessing between 101 to 276 kills. The three leaders are Jenna Tunnell (276), Maggie Byrne-Quinn (215) and Hailey Harward (166). Desert Vista is 37-3 with no losses in best-of-five matches all season. The Thunder have dropped invitational matches to Xavier 2-1, 2-0 and to Hamilton 2-1. They have not been pushed to five sets this season and have beaten every team that's advanced to the quarterfinals. PREDICTED OUTCOME: Desert Vista advances and will reach the title match after defeating the Basha-Perry winner.

No. 5 Basha at No. 4 Perry: The rivalry between these Chandler schools is hotly contested regardless of sport. Basha has won all three meetings -- two 2-1 wins in invitationals and a 3-0 triumph in a power-raking match. Basha coach Terri Spann has installed a new system the last two years and her players have bought in. They are undersized compared to most of their opponents. They relay primarily on junior outside Justine Spann, who leads the state in kills and to a lesser extent middle Alexa Johnson. Terri Spann credits much of the team's success to the play of freshman libero Kiana Gonsalves, who has been a defensive stalwart. Perry coach  Fred Mann, also in his second year at the helm, has the Pumas with their highest seed ever at state. Perry features good size and a balanced offense ledy by kills leader Taylor Knoll and middle Maddie LeBlanc. Despite losing three times Perry can't be counted out in this one. The last two meetings were tigth, three-set matches in tournaments. Perry has been bothered recently by injury and illness, but won't use that as an excuse where rivarly and intensity can make a difference. Perry has home-court advantage, but did also in its 3-0 loss to Basha on Sept. 30. Basha is 7-9 vs. the quarterfinalists and Perry is 3-6. PREDICTED OUTCOME: Basha advances, but bows out in semifinal vs. Desert Vista. Desert Vista is 4-0 this season against Basha.

No. 11 Horizon at No. 3 Xavier: These teams have played a bunch the last four years -- this will be the 16th meeing in that span. Horizon leads 8-7 in those matches. This year, however, has been Xavier's year vs. Horizon. Xavier is 3-0. Both teams entered the season lacking a lot of experience, but Xavier had arguably the state's best player on board in junior Khalia Lanier. Lanier has been joined by a lineup that's progressively gelled and is now a bonafide contender with a shot at repeating s D-I champ. Horizon coach Valorie McKenzie has nurtured a program that lost seven seniors and 9 players from last years semifinalist. It took time for them to adjust to coaching and the abilities of each other. Xavier returned only two starters and grauated six senior so the 2014 squad is quite new. Several players have taken on large roles and they've learned to trust one another. The Gators bowed early to Desert Vista, but the emergence as the year has passed of setter Callie Jones and libero Kristin Largay as consistent and potent has been huge. The middles, led by Kate Even and Makena Patterson have made teams vulnerable if they focus too much on Lanier. Xavier was 7-0 at the Gilbert Invitational, repeated as Nike Platinum Division champs and have defeated every team that's advanced to the quarterfinals save Perry who it did not play. PREDICTED OUTCOME: Xavier advances, goes on to the finals after it defeats the Gilbert-Hamilton winner.  

No. 7 Gilbert at No. 2 Hamilton: Despite injury prior to the season and along the way that have hampered depth, Hamilton has been as consistent as any team in the division. The Huskies returned many players who were a huge part of last year's runner-up fiinish at state to Xavier. Drawing Gilbert, regardless of its seed, is arguably the  toughest of the quarterfinal bouts. Hamilton likely would have to go through Xavier and Desert Vista as well to win their elusive first state title. Hamliton returned starters McKenna Woodford, Olivia Hallaran, Hailey Babcock and Sydney Lostumo so there was a good core on hand for coach Sharon Vanis. Hamilton's offense revolves around outsides Woodford and Hallaran and middle Anderson. Gilbert has played less than .500 against the quarterfinalists as a whole, but beaten five of the seven. They are led offensively by outside and all-round talent, Makenna Martin, a junior and sophomore outside KT Lines. Junior libero Kamryn Hill leads the defense. The Tigers serve aggressively and rely on defense. PREDICTED OUTCOME: Gilbert advances in a mild upset, but exits with a semifinal loss to Xavier.