Assumption wins Durango Invitational to move into Xcellent 25, and No. 1 stays solid.
Video: Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings - September 22Cathedral (Indianapolis) didn't play in either of the major national tournaments last weekend but took care of business by defeating three opponents to run its record to 18-0 and remain atop this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.
With as many as a dozen Top 25 teams playing in tournaments last weekend in Florida (Berkeley Prep Premiere in Tampa) and Las Vegas (Durango Invitational), Cathedral defeated Avon, Lawrence and Ben Davis. The Irish outscored the three teams by a combined total of 246-132.
Meanwhile, No. 2 P.K. Yonge (Gainesville, Fla.) won the Berkeley Premiere Tournament, defeating No. 6 Winter Springs (Fla.) 2-0 in the title match. The Blue Wave avenged their only two losses of 2014, beating Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 25-21, 25-17 in the semifinals and then topping Winter Springs, 25-18, 25-20, in the championship to run their win streak to 30. The Blue Wave were led by outside hitter
Jac'cara Walker, setter
Sammy Mueller and libero
Cameron Childs, all first team all-Premiere Tournament selections.
In last week's Xcellent 25, P.K. Yonge was ranked No. 3 and Winter Springs No. 2.
Rounding out the Top 5 are St. Ursula (Toledo, Ohio), Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Santa Margarita (Calif.). New to Top 10 this week is unbeaten Parkland (Allentown, Penn.), winner of 36 straight.
Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) won the prestigious Durango Invitational, as
Brooke Moore was named tournament MVP.
Kara Schacklette and libero
Allie Gregory were also named to the All-Tournament Team. As a result, Assumption (13-5) went from unranked to No. 14.
It's unusual to have a team with five losses ranked in the Top 25 in September. However, Assumption's losses have come against highly ranked teams. In the Durango finals, Assumption beat No. 5 Santa Margarita, 2-1.
In addition to Assumption, new to the Top 25 this week are Durango third-place finisher Torrey Pines (San Diego), Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (Chardon, Ohio) and Richard (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Assumption celebrated a victory at the Durango Invitational.
Photo by Jann Hendry
Cathedral has lost just one set in its last 15 matches.
2. (3) P.K. Yonge (Gainesville, Fla.),11-0P.K. Yonge has won 30 straight.
3. (5) Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.), 8-1CDM beat Newport Harbor, 3-1, following a loss to No. 21 Santiago (Corona).
4. (6) St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), 12-0SUA blanked two more opponents and has lost just one set in 34 this season..
5. (4) Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 16-1Despite the play of junior outside hitter
Meghan McClure, Santa Margarita lost to Assumption in final of the Durango Invitational, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19.
6. (2) Winter Springs (Fla.), 12-1Winter Springs lost to No. 2 P.K. Yonge in the Berkeley Prep Premier Tournament final, 2-0.
7. (8) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 31-3Carroll has won 15 straight.
8. (10) Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 5-0Impressive season-opening wins have run Jesuit's win string to 43.
9. (9) Yorktown (Ind.), 19-0Yorktown has lost just two sets this season.
10. (11) Parkland (Allentown, Pa.), 10-0Parkland has 37 wins in a row.
11. (17) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 10-1The Thunder won the St. Joseph's Tournament of Champions, as the Stanford-bound duo of
Audriana Fitzmorris and
Jenna Gray led St. James. Fitzmorris put down 12 kills and Gray had six kills and 17 assists in the championship match.
12. (12) Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.), 9-0Kylie Miller is averaging 5.8 kills and
Mary Bagshaw is averaging 12.6 assists.
13. (7) Xavier College Prep (Phoenix), 11-1Xavier placed fifth at Durango with a 6-1 record, losing only to No. 5 Santa Margarita.
14. (NR) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 13-5Assumption's losses this season have come against No. 1 Cathedral, No. 11 St. James Academy, No. 25 Carroll (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Louisville rival and No. 24-ranked Sacred Heart (twice).
15. (13) Dripping Springs (Texas), 33-2Dripping Springs has won 26 straight, as
Autumn Rounsaville closes in on 500 digs (5.6 average).
16. (16) Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 10-0After struggling with Harker (San Jose), Saint Francis blanked Menlo (Atherton), 3-0.
17. (18) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 8-0Immaculate Heart Academy's win streak stands at 26 and the team has yet to lose a set in 2015.
18. (NR) Torrey Pines (San Diego), 9-1TPHS placed third at Durango with a 6-1 record.
19. (NR) Richard (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 25-0The Fighting Irish are the only team to beat 25-1 Novi, and did so convincingly, 25-16, 25-15.
20. (20) Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), 11-1Manatee lost 2-1 to Winter Springs in the Berkeley Prep third-place match.
21. (21) Santiago (Corona, Calif.), 12-2Santiago has wins over Corona del Mar and Aliso Niguel and lost only to highly ranked Rancho Cucamonga and Santa Margarita.
22. (25) Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), 8-1The Wolverines have blanked two foes since finishing third in the Dave Mohs Tournament and suffering their only loss of the season.
23. (NR) Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (Chardon, Ohio), 11-0The Lions are averaging 14.2 kills and 20.2 digs per set.
24. (22) Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.), 20-1Dorman coach Paula Kirkland picked up career win No. 800 as Dorman won its own Tournament of Champions for the first time in school history.
25. (24) Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), 19-4Sacred Heart placed fourth at Durango with a 5-2 record. The team has two wins over No. 14 Assumption.
Dropped Out: Coronado (Henderson, Nev.), Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.).
