MaxPreps Top 25 girls high school volleyball rankings

By tom mauldin Nov 29, 2016, 10:00am

Archbishop Mitty, Santa Margarita can make their case for No. 1 by winning California open division state title.

Video: Xcellent 25 girls volleyball rankings presented by the Army National Guard
See the 25 teams everyone's talking about.

Can a pair of four-loss teams shake up the final MaxPreps Xcellent Volleyball Rankings presented by the U.S. Army National Guard?

Volleyball enthusiasts will find out when 38-4 Santa Margarita and 37-4 Archbishop Mitty meet Saturday in California's open division state championship.

In the Xcellent Rankings, Santa Margarita is No. 5 and Archbishop Mitty is No. 10. Each has climbed steadily in recent weeks due to their monumental tasks of knocking off some of the nation's top teams in reaching California's state finals.

In MaxPreps' Computer Rankings, Archbishop Mitty is No. 1 and Santa Margarita is No. 2. In addition to facing one another, each team has played eight teams ranked at one time this season in the Xcellent Top 25 Rankings.



Could a win by either vault them past No.1 Mother McAuley or No. 2 Novi, both one-loss teams?

Unbeatens Skutt Catholic and Lewis-Palmer sit at No. 3 and No. 4. With a combined 73-0 record and 191 set wins against just 10 losses, both have an argument to be No. 1.

Archbishop Mitty, which beat Santa Margarita 2-0 (25-20, 25-11) when they met in the Durango Classic on Sept. 17, is 92-20 in sets and has a nine-match win streak. Santa Margarita is 96-19 in set play and is riding a 22-match win streak.

Archbishop Mitty and Santa Margarita are the only two ranked teams playing this week. Match time is 6:30 p.m. PST on Saturday. The final and season-ending MaxPreps Xcellent 50 Rankings is a week away.

New to the Top 25 this week is 31-2 Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), winners of its final 26 matches and the state's large school title.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings presented by the U.S. Army National Guard

1. (1 last week) Mother McAuley (Chicago, Ill.), 40-1 * season over
McAuley won the state 4A title.



2. (2) Novi (Mich.), 52-1 * season over
The Wildcats defended their Division A state title and finished the season 42 wins in a row.

3. (3) Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.), 44-0 * season over
The Skyhawks won the state B title.

4. (4) Lewis-Palmer (Monument, Colo.), 29-0 * season over
The Rangers won the state 4A title.

5. (8) Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 37-4
Led by Devon Chang's 46 assists and Meghan McClure's 18 kills, Santa Margarita beat Santa Fe Christian (San Diego) and moves into the California open division state championship game on Saturday against No. 10 ranked Archbishop Mitty (San Jose). Santa Margarita has won 22 straight matches.
Santa Margarita will play Archbishop Mitty on Saturday for the California open division state title.
Santa Margarita will play Archbishop Mitty on Saturday for the California open division state title.
Photo by Heston Quan
6. (6) Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.), 32-1 * season over
The Hornets won the state 6A title.

7. (5) Yorktown (Ind.), 37-1 * season over
The Tigers won the state 3A title.

8. (9) Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), 40-4 * season over
The Valkyries won the Kentucky state championship.

9. (7) Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.), 34-0 * season over
The Chargers won the state 3A title.



10. (12) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 37-4
The Monarchs defeated St. Ignatius (San Francisco) and move into the California open division state championship game on Saturday against No. 5 ranked Santa Margarita.

11. (10) Penfield (N.Y.), 50-0 * season over
The Patriots won the state class AA title.

12. (13) Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.), 46-2 * season over
The Cavaliers won the state 5A title.

13. (14) Eagan (Minn.), 28-1 * season over
The Wildcats won the state 3A title.

14. (16) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 30-2 * season over
The Raiders won the state 8A title.

15. (15) Brecksville-Broadview Heights (Broadview Heights, Ohio), 28-1 * season over
The Bees captured the state 3A title.



16. (17) Hebron (Carrollton, Texas), 46-6 * season over
The Hawks won their second straight 6A state title.

17. (18) Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.), 26-1 *season over
The Red Raiders captured the state D1 title.

18. (20) Pope John Paul II (Slidell, La.), 45-2-1 * season over
The Jaguars captured their third consecutive LHSAA D4 state championship.

19. (19) Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 39-5 * season over
The Aztecs won the state 6A title.

20. (NR) Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), 31-2
Led by senior Abby Bottomley (102 aces in 83 sets), the Cavaliers won their final 26 matches and the Virginia 5A state title. They lost three sets during their 26-match win streak.

21. (21) Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.), 31-4 * season over
The Fighting Irish repeated as state D4 champions.



22. (22) Ankeny Centennial (Iowa), 35-3 * season over
The Jaguars captured the state 5A title for the third straight season.

23. (23) Northwest (Olathe, Kan.), 36-4 *season over
The Ravens won their final 16 matches and the state large school title.

24. (24) Edmond Memorial (Edmond, Okla.), 33-2 * season over
Memorial captured the state 6A title.

25. (25) Oak Ridge (Conroe, Texas), 48-1 * season over
The War Eagles lost to 6A state champion Hebron (Carrollton, Tex.), 3-0, in the semifinals.

Dropped Out This Week: Ventura (Calif.).