Gaels win third Nevada 6A crown in four years after pandemic canceled last year's season.
No. 1 Marymount continued its unbeaten march toward a California Open Division high school volleyball title after a sweep of Mira Costa on Saturday. The Sailors, who own four tournament titles this season, battle No. 7 Cathedral Catholic in the Southern California regional final Tuesday for a shot at the state final.
The Dons moved up two spots in the MaxPreps Top 25 after powering past Mater Dei in straight sets in the other CIF SoCal regional semifinal. The winner of the top 10 battle has to be considered the favorite heading into Saturday's CIF Open Division final against either No. 19 Archbishop Mitty or fellow WCAL foe Saint Francis, which previously knocked off NorCal top-seed Marin Catholic.
Along with California, postseason play in Texas and Michigan play wraps up this weekend. No. 4 Marian is one of three MaxPreps Top 25 teams in the state looking for a state title, as the Mustangs also looks to make its case for a MaxPreps National Championship behind recently-crowned Michigan Miss Volleyball, Ava Brizard. Marian is on a collision course with No. 10 Hudsonville in the Division 1 bracket, while No. 6 Notre Dame Prep likely will have to get past defending Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian to hoist the trophy.
Speaking of trophies, five MaxPreps Top 25 teams grabbed the prize over the weekend. No. 9 Wayzata finished a perfect season with a Minnesota 2A title. The Trojans will enter the 2022 campaign riding a 45-game win streak.
Bishop Gorman won its third Nevada 6A title in four years — the Gaels' seniors were denied an opportunity for the four-peat when the state's volleyball season was shuttered last year due to the pandemic. Gorman downed Centennial in straight sets for the title.
In Louisiana, St. Mary's Dominican won the Division 1 crown with a 15-13 fifth-set victory, while Montini Catholic grabbed the Illinois 2A title — the first for the Broncos in school history.
No. 18 Hamilton captured the Arizona 6A title for the second straight year, beating O'Connor in four sets.
Hamilton players celebrate their Arizona 6A title win over O'Connor over the weekend.
Photo by Mark Jones
The Sailors continued their march toward a CIF Open Division title and unbeaten season with a sweep over Mira Costa in the Southern California semifinals.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Cathedral Catholic
2. (2) St. Pius X Catholic (Atlanta), 52-1AAAAA state champions. Season complete.
3. (3) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 40-0Class A champions. Season complete.
4. (4) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 50-1Highlights: The Mustangs got 19 kills, 11 digs and five aces from newly-crowned Michigan Miss Volleyball
Ava Brizard in a sweep of Lake Orion while
Ava Sarafa tallied 39 kills.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Davison
5. (5) Brandeis (San Antonio), 45-2Highlights: The Broncos are headed to the UIL 6A state finals for the first time in school history after sweeping Vandegrift in the regional finals. TCU commit
Jalyn Gibson had a team-high 17 kills while
Emma Halstead added 14 kills.
Next: Nov. 19 vs. Bridgeland
6. (6) Notre Dame Prep (Pontiac, Mich.), 61-1Highlights: The Fighting Irish racked up their 61st win of the year with a sweep of Marysville in the regional finals.
Sophia Sudzina led the way with 15 kills while
Bianca Giglio added 10 kills.
Margo Sudzina dished up 20 assists while Notre Dame Prep prepares for 29-6-1 Detroit Country Day in the Division 2 quarterfinals.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Detroit Country Day
7. (9) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 35-4Highlights: Mater Dei pushed the Dons to 26-24 in the first set, but the San Diego power cruised through the final two sets in the sweep. The Southern California Open Division final is a battle of titans on Tuesday as the Dons try to take down No. 1 Marymount.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Marymount
8. (8) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 40-6Highlights: The Leopards downed Reedy 3-1 in the 5A regional final as
Rosemary Archer led four players with double-digit kills. The Pepperdine commit pounded 18 kills with 21 digs and 18 assists.
Grace Milliken had 15,
Avery Villarreal added 10 and
Averi Carlson chipped in 11 kills, 19 digs and 32 assists.
Next: Nov. 19 vs. Manvel
9. (11) Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), 34-0Highlights: The Trojans captured the 4A championship with a four-set win over East Ridge. The title is the first large-school crown in school history and the victory seals not only the undefeated season, but bumped Wayzata's win streak to 54 dating back to 2019. The Trojans, who were fueled by
Avery Jesewitz's 14 kills, haven't lost a best-of-five match since 2018.
Next: Season complete.
10. (12) Hudsonville (Mich.), 51-2-1Highlights: The Eagles, who must first get past Rockford on Tuesday, are on a collision course with No. 4 Marian after the regional finals win over Portage Northern. Sophomore
Isabelle Swiercz led Hudsonville in the sweep over the Huskies.
Megan Beemer had 19 assists and Lauren Wiles added 14 in the victory.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Rockford
11. (13) Ponte Vedra (Fla.), 29-1Highlights: The Sharks battle for the 6A title on Wednesday after their sweep of Viera in the semifinals.
Jessica Shattles had 35 assists while
Rachel Johnson had 12 kills and
Zeta Washington added 10.
Next: Nov. 17 vs. Mater Academy Charter
12. (14) McCutcheon (Lafayette, Ind.), 30-6Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
13. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 36-6Highlights: The Trojans fell 3-0 to Cathedral Catholic in the SoCal Open Division semifinals. Mater Dei, led all season by sophomore hitter
Babi Gubbins, had five of its six losses to teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 at one point in the season.
Next: Season complete.
14. (15) North Raleigh Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.), 27-2NCISAA Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
15. (16) Victor (N.Y.), 45-1Highlights: The Blue Devils await the state postseason after punching their ticket with a sweep over Frontier in the AA Far West Regional.
Alex Mckenzie had 17 kills,
Emma Werkmeister added 16 and
Helen Qian added 14 in the sweep. Emily Willow dished up 47 assists.
Next: Nov. 20 vs. TBD
16. (19) Montini Catholic (Lombard, Ill.), 40-1Highlights: The Broncos captured the 2A title, the first in school history, with a sweep of Pleasant Plains behind a balanced attack including hitters
Paige Pickering,
Jordan Heatherly,
Maddie Kasallis and
Ariana Joubert.
Next: Season complete.
17. (20) Fayetteville (Ark.), 32-4Class AAA state champions. Season complete.
18. (23) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 34-5Highlights: USC commit
Jordan Middleton's 26 kills led the Huskies to repeat as 6A champions in a four-set win over O'Connor.
Micah Gryniewicz added 17 and
Neomi Beach added 14 as Hamilton avenged an earlier loss to the Eagles.
Next: Season complete
19. (25) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 35-7Highlights: The Monarchs swept the Lincoln Fighting Zebras to advance to the NorCal Open Division finals against West Catholic Athletic League foe Saint Francis. The Lancers beat Mitty twice in three league matches.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Saint Francis
20. (21) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 27-6AAAAAAA state champions. Season complete
21. (22) Lansing (Kan.), 40-1Class 5A state champions. Season complete.
22. (24) Parkland (Allentown, Pa.), 34-0-1Highlights: The Trojans got 12 kills from
Brynn Dreisbach in a 4A quarterfinal sweep of Cumberland Valley as
Maggie Smith added 28 assists. The lone blemish on the schedule was a tournament tie with New York's Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
Next: Nov. 16 vs. Bishop Shanahan
23. (NR) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 31-6Highlights: The Gaels captured their third 5A title in four years with a 48-assist night from
Caroline Edgeworth as
Sophia Ewalefo led the team with 21 kills and
Leilia Toailoa added 20. Bishop Gorman won championships in 2018 and 2019, but the pandemic wiped out the Nevada season last year.
Next: Season complete.
24. (NR) St. Mary's Dominican (New Orleans), 45-2Highlights: Dominican grabbed the D1 title with a five-set win over St. Joseph's Academy, grabbing the fifth set 15-13. Anne Hardoiun led six hitters with more than 100 kills, including
Camryn Chatellier,
O'neil Haddad,
Zoe Smith,
Kate Baker and
Mykail Lusco. Baker also notched 1,176 assists on the season.
Next: Season complete.
25. (17) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 30-6Season complete.
On the bubble: Plant (Tampa, Fla.), 25-5;
Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 27-5;
Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.), 47-4;
Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.), 22-8;
Skyview (Nampa, Idaho), 36-2;
Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.), 57-6;
Marin Catholic (Kentfield, Calif.), 28-3;
Sequoyah (Canton, Ga.), 51-4;
Laramie (Laramie, Wyo.), 32-2;
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (Burnt Hills, N.Y.), 41-3-3.
