Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings: Little movement among top teams

Martin County of Stuart, Fla., and Pearce of Richardson, Texas move into this week's national high school rankings; Berkeley Prep, Allen, drop out.

There was little movement in this week's Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings, as the top 12 teams were all victorious last week.

Assumption of Louisville, Ky., was ranked No. 13 last week but fell to Mercy (Louisville, Ky.). The Rockets were ranked No. 1 in the state entering the match while Mercy was No. 2. The loss does not drop Assumption from the rankings since it already had a previous win over Mercy.

The only two teams to leave the rankings this week were Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) and Allen (Texas). Martin County (Stuart, Fla.) defeated Berkeley Prep in the Tampa Invitational and moves into the rankings. Meanwhile, Pearce (Richardson, Texas), which holds a previous win over Allen, replaces the Eagles.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 19-0
The Monarchs knocked off St. Ignatius (San Francisco) and Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.) in West Catholic Athletic League play by 3-0 scores. Rachel Williams led the team with eight kills against St. Ignatious while Jacqui Lewis had seven and Brittany Bozzini had six. Williams added 11 kills against Valley Christian.

2. (2) Reagan (San Antonio, Texas), 37-1
The Rattlers defeated Lee (San Antonio, Texas) and Roosevelt (San Antonio, Texas) to clinch a playoff berth in Texas state playoffs. Preslie Alexander had 11 kills in the win over Lee while Kayci Evans had eight.

3. (3) Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio), 20-0
Ursuline defeated Seton (Cincinnati, Ohio) 3-1 and McAuley (Cincinnati, Ohio), 3-0 to stay undefeated. Jade Henderson had 20 kills in the win over Seton while Lauren Marlatt had 16 and Christina Beer added 14. In the McAuley win, Beer had 11 kills and Marlatt had 10.

4. (4) Shakopee (Minn.), 19-0
The Sabers defeated Waconia 3-0 and Prior Lake 3-0 in last week’s action. Ashley Wittman had 20 kills and Megan Westlund had 22 assists in the victory over Waconia.

5. (5) Muncie Burris (Muncie, Ind.), 31-0
The Owls have won 38 games in a row dating back to last season after dumping New Castle Chrysler (New Castle, Ind.) 3-0 and Blue River Valley (Mt. Summit, Ind.) 3-0 last week. Chelsea Toth had 18 kills against New Castle Chrysler and Taylor Unroe added 10. Burris also defeated Southside 3-0 with Courtney Smith putting up 12 kills. The Owls played without Unroe, who injured an ankle against New Castle Chrysler. She is expected back this week for a big matchup against undefeated Yorktown, according to the Muncie Star Press.

6. (6) Coffman (Dublin, Ohio), 19-0
The Shamrocks won three times last week, defeating Hilliard Darby 3-0, Hilliard Davidson 3-0 and Notre Dame Academy 3-0. The Shamrocks complete the regular season this week against Worthington Kilbourne and Upper Arlington.

7. (7) Colorado Springs Christian (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 15-0
The Lions won twice, whipping Salida 3-0 and Classical Academy (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 3-1. Morgan Broekhuis had 10 kills and 12 assists against Salida and added 16 kills and 18 assists against Classical Academy. Brianne Vande Griend added 15 kills and Summer Greager had 10 in the Classical Academy victory.

8. (8) Dos Pueblos (Goleta, Calif.), 12-1
The Chargers won a key matchup with Los Alamitos, defeating the Griffins 15-9 in the fifth game for the 3-2 victory. Dos Pueblos also topped San Marcos 3-0 in Channel League competition. Karina Evans led Dos Pueblos with 11 kills against San Marcos.

Carly Wopat (2) and Paige Craine (6), Dos Pueblos

File photo by Marc Liberts

9. (9) Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.), 16-0
The Rams won three times last week after finishing first at the South Albany State Preview Tournament. Central Catholic downed Centennial (Gresham, Ore.) 3-0, Sandy (Ore.) 3-0 and St. Mary’s Academy (Portland, Ore.) 3-0.

10. (10) Amarillo (Texas), 36-3
The Sandies swept Midland Lee 3-0 last week for their 51st consecutive district win and clinched a berth in the District playoffs. Neely Borger had 10 kills in the win while Sheridan Burgess added nine.

11. (11) JH Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 17-0-2
The Rampants whipped Hoggard (Wilmington, N.C.) 3-0 and Ashley (Wilmington, N.C.) 3-0 last week. Emily Neideffer and Caroline Douglas each had 12 kills in the Hoggard victory, with Douglas adding 11 kills against Ashley.

12. (12) Newport Harbor (Calif.), 15-3
The Sailors defeated Fountain Valley (Calif.) and Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) by 3-0 scores last week in Sunset League play. Newport Harbor has a key matchup this week with Los Alamitos.

13. (14) Marian (Omaha, Neb.), 22-1
The Crusaders topped Omaha Central last week in their only reported match to stay atop the Nebraska state volleyball rankings.

14. (15) Randall (Amarillo, Texas), 31-1
The Raiders notched 17 aces in a 3-0 victory over Dumas last week and clinched a playoff berth in the process. Ashley Davis led the team with eight aces while Alexi Davis had six kills and three blocks.

15. (13) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 30-4
The Rockets defeated Notre Dame (Covington, Ky.) 3-0 last week but lost to Mercy (Louisville, Ky.) 3-2. Mercy, ranked No. 2 in the state of Kentucky by the state coaches association, won the final two games, including 15-7 in the final game, to upend Assumption, which was the state’s top-ranked team. Assumption has a previous win over Mercy.

16. (16) Catholic Academy (Joliet, Ill.), 25-1
The Angels repeated as champions of the Mizuno Cup in Aurora, Ill., with Catholic Academy defeating St. Charles East 25-22, 25-18 for the title. Annemarie Hickey had 16 kills in the final and was named tournament MVP for the second year in a row. Jenn Murphy added 67 assists and Alyssa Warren had 19 kills for the tournament.

17. (18) Huntsville (Ala.), 46-1
The Panthers finish the regular season ranked No. 1 in the Alabama Class 6A state rankings and will begin area play in the state playoffs this week.

18. (19) Plant (Tampa, Fla.), 17-1
The Panthers dropped Alonso 3-0 in their only match of the week. Becca Howard had 21 assists in the win as six players had at least five kills.

19. (21) Yorktown (Ind.), 29-0
Yorktown set up this week’s big matchup with Muncie Burris with a pair of wins last week to remain undefeated. The Tigers whipped New Castle Chrysler 3-0 and also topped Delta 3-1. Jill Hopper had 12 kills against New Castle Chrysler.

20. (17) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 47-2
The Greyhounds lost to Walton for the second time this season but then defeated Walton twice on Oct. 10 to claim the Area 1 AAAAA championship. Pope will face Marietta in the first round of the Georgia AAAAA state playoffs.

21. (23) Ankeny (Iowa), 24-0
The Hawks won the Bettendorf Tournament, going undefeated in pool play and then beating Iowa City 2-0 in the semifinals and Burlington Central 25-22, 25-18 in the championship match.

22. (24) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 43-2
The Mustangs defeated Mercy (Farmington Hills, Mich.) 3-0 and Regina (Warren, Mich.) 3-0 last week. Marian also participated in the Fraser Invitational, but scores were unavailable.

23. (25) Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 15-1
The Crusaders won their only match of the week, defeating Newburg 3-0.

24 (NR) Pearce (Richardson, Texas), 33-5
The Mustangs are ranked No. 1 in the 4A state rankings by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. Pearce has wins over Allen and the Woodlands and also handed Reagan its only loss of the season. Pearce has also lost to Amarillo and Lovejoy, the state’s top-ranked Class 3A team.

25. (NR) Martin County (Stuart, Fla.), 24-1
The Tigers turned some heads with an impressive performance at the Tampa Invitational. Besides picking up wins over defending state champion Timber Creek, Martin County also topped Leon, one of the top-ranked teams in the state, and Berkeley Prep, one of the top-ranked teams in the nation. The Tigers’ only loss is a 3-1 defeat to nationally-ranked Plant.