MaxPreps Top 25 national high school volleyball rankings

Mercy (Louisville, Ky.) remained unbeaten on the season as it won the Brebeuf Jesuit Invitational last weekend and as a result stayed atop MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

Unbeatens The Woodlands (Texas) and St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) remain closely behind Mercy. St. James has yet to lose a game in winning all of its 25 matches this season.

With previously-ranked New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.) losing its first game of the season, Dakota (MaComb, Mich.) moved to No. 4 and San Diego's Torrey Pines rounded out the top five.

East Troy (Wis.) and Yorktown (Ind.) remained unbeaten and moved into the Top 10 for the first time this season.



Four new teams joined the Top 25 this week — ranked at 14, 15, 16 and 19 are unbeatens Bellarmine (Tacoma, Wash.), St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), Veterans Memorial (Mission, Texas) and Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins, Colo.).

No. 18 Mother McAuley will host the annual Asics Challenge in Chicago Friday and Saturday. Along with McAuley, ranked teams entered include No. 19 Hillcrest (S.C.) and No. 16 St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.).

Also entered will be previously No. 1 ranked Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) and Kentucky schools Henry Clay (19-5), Sacred Heart (15-8) and Notre Dame (13-3). The latter has lost twice this season to No. 1 Mercy. Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), which lost to Mercy in the finals of the Premiere Prep Classic in Tampa, is also in the 24-team field.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (Last week 1) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 27-0
The Jaguars defeated Central (Floyd) 3-1 on Thursday, then went 3-0 to win the Brebeuf Jesuit Invitational in Indianapolis last Saturday. Courtney Crable had 17 kills in the finals and sophomore setter Morgan Elmore had 44 assists. In winning the title, Mercy beat Westfield 3-0, Union County 2-0 and Brownsburg 2-0 on Saturday. The Jaguars, who have lost only nine games this season, visit 19-8 Jefferstown (Ky.) on Wednesday.

2. (2) The Woodlands (Texas), 29-0
The Highlanders beat Kingwood (Texas), 3-0, and beat Bryan on Friday. They have outscored their foes 69-4. The Highlanders host College Park (The Woodlands) on Tuesday.



3. (3) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 25-0
Led by outside hitter Arianna Person (192 kills), the Thunder blanked previously-ranked Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) on Thursday, then shut out six opponents in capturing the Blue Springs South invitational on Saturday. The Thunder has not lost a game this season. They play at St. Teresa's Academy (Kansas City, Mo.), on Tuesday.

4. (5) Dakota (Macomb, Mich.), 26-0
Dakota has lost just four games out of 59 this season and has won its last 13 matches by shutout. Carli Snyder has 77 aces this season. Dakota visits Northern (Port Huron, Mich.) on Thursday.

5. (6) Torrey Pines (San Diego), 12-0
The Falcons beat Poway last week and host LaCosta Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) on Wednesday.

6. (10) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 32-1
Winners of 21 straight, Carroll hosts Keller on Tuesday.

7. (9) Churchill (San Antonio), 33-1
Behind Karley York's 17 assists and Abby Buckingham's 13 hills, Churchill ran its win streak to 26 with a 3-0 win over Roosevelt (San Antonio) on Friday. It hosts 25-6 Reagan (San Antonio) on Tuesday.

8. (21) East Troy (Wis.), 32-0
The Trojans won the Lynn LaPorte Sprawl (West Bend, Wis.) behind the play of sophomore M.E. Dodge (65 kills) and Brittney Jakscht (169 assists in the two-day event). They host Evansville (Wis.) on Tuesday.



9. (18) Yorktown (Ind.), 23-0
The Tigers beat Wes-Del, Cowan, Pendleton Heights and North (Lawrence) to win the Muncie Central Invitational. They take on New Palestine (Ind.) on Tuesday.

10. (11) Kamehameha (Honolulu), 22-1
The Warriors beat 'Iolani in three sets (25-16, 22-25, 25-15) at Kekuhaupi'o. They host Maryknoll (Honolulu) on Tuesday.

11. (15) Carmel (Ind.), 19-1
Since losing to Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), the Greyhounds have blanked 16 foes, and most recently won 3-0 over North Central (Indianapolis) and Noblesville (Ind.). On Tuesday, they visit Pike.

12. (13) Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 11-1
Horizon beat Pinnacle (Phoenix) and Xavier College Prep (Phoenix) last week and hosts Cactus Shadows (Cave Creek, Ariz.) on Monday.

13. (14) Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 17-1-1
Lafayette hasn't lost a match in its last dozen and have lost but one game during that span. It visits Westminster Christian (St. Louis, Mo.) on Tuesday.

14. (NR) Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.), 12-0
Bellarmine has not lost a set this season (30-0) and won the 27-team Kent Classic recently. Senior team captains Courtney Schwan (OH), and Julia Wright (Libero), and seniors Emilie Newberry and Lindsay Schelbert and 6-4 junior Claire Martin are drawing coach Jody DeGroot's praise. The Bells host Olympia (Wash.) on Wednesday.

15. (NR) St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), 18-0
St. Ursula has won 33 of its last 34 matches. And in winning all 18 matches this season, has lost just two games. Dating back to 2009, St. Ursula is 122-6.



16. (NR) Veterans Memorial (Mission, Texas), 29-0
Led by Shania Gilpin, the Lady Patriots host Mercedes (Texas) on Tuesday.

17. (22) Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.), 14-0
The Crusaders have lost but one game this year (Aug. 20) and outscored their foes, 42-1. They have won 21 matches straight and four-straight titles. They visit Northern Vance (Henderson, N.C.) on Tuesday.

18. (20) Mother McAuley (Chicago), 17-2
The Macs had an impressive week winning seven matches and not losing a game in the process. Five of those wins came Friday and Saturday as they won another tournament championship. The Macs host Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) on Thursday, then host the Asics Classic on Friday and Saturday.

19. (NR) Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins, Colo.), 10-0
Led by senior setters Sarah Danattell and Katelyn Schwartz, the Sabercats proved they are for real with a 3-1 win over previously-ranked Doherty (Colorado Springs, Colo.). They host West (Greeley, Colo.) on Tuesday.

20. (23) Winter Park (Fla.), 15-1
After suffering their first loss of the season, the Wildcats bounced back to blank Orlando schools University and Lake Nona, 3-0. They play at Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) on Tuesday. Beth Nordhorn has 57 blocks this season.

21. (7) New Castle (Ind.), 21-1
The Trojans defeated Pendleton (Ind.) and Roncali (Indianapolis), then saw their 19-match winning streak end, losing to 11-11 Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) 2-1 at the Lady Irish Invitational this weekend. The Trojans host Bishop Chatard (Indianapolis) on Tuesday.

22. (8) Bettendorf (Iowa), 24-1
The Bulldogs saw their 24-match win streak end to 9-3 Pleasant Grove 19-21, 21-16 and 13-15. They visit North (Davenport, Iowa) on Tuesday.

23. (24) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 16-2
Kelsey Crawford had 44 assists as Mitty beat Homestead, 3-1. The Monarchs visit St. Ignatius (San Francisco) on Wednesday.



24. (16) St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.), 19-2
The Spartans lost to Mother McAuley to end their win streak at 19. It was the second time this season that McAuley topped St. Francis. The Spartans play at North (Downers Grove) on Oct. 10.

25. (25) Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.), 34-3
Behind the play of seniors Kat Hutson and Taylor Briggs, Ravenwood blanked Independence (Thompson's Station, Tenn.) and Franklin (Tenn.) last week and has outscored its opponents 83-14. Next up is 22-7 Centennial (Franklin, Tenn.) on Tuesday.

Dropped Out:
No. 4 New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.)
No. 12 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville, Fla.)
No. 17 Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)
No. 19 Hillcrest (Simpsonville, S.C.)