Omaha Marian, Papillion-LaVista South and Omaha Skutt Catholic combined to play in 22 state title matches.
It should come as no surprise that Omaha Marian took the top spot as Nebraska's most dominant volleyball program since the inception of MaxPreps Nebraska volleyball rankings in 2007.
The Crusaders, who claimed five of the seven state finals they competed in over the last decade and a half, outdistanced all of Class A and the rest of the field to take the top prize. Amy McLeay's program outscored runner-up Papillion-LaVista South 399-348.
Although the Titans played in eight championship matches, to seven for the Crusaders, both programs scored 120 state championship points. Omaha Marian edged the Titans by playing its way into all 14 MaxPreps Nebraska Top 25 volleyball polls at season's end while Papillion-LaVista South failed to score Top 25 points in 2013 and 2018.
Class B power Omaha Skutt Catholic sailed into third place on the strength of winning six state titles in seven state championship matches. The Skyhawks, however, missed the MaxPreps Top 25 in 2008, 2009 and 2012 to finish with 341 points, seven behind the runner-up Titans. Papillion-LaVista joined Omaha Marian as the only schools to make all 14 Top 25s and finished with 304 points. Lincoln Pius X scored 291 points to round out the Top 5.
Classes C2, D1 and D2 did not land a program in the Top 10. But they were well represented. Lutheran High Northeast, Class C2's highest ranked club at No. 19, finished with 112 points. Hartington Cedar Catholic, on the other hand, was the highest ranked Class D1 squad after finishing 25th with 87 points. Eeter-Milligan, who claimed five state titles in six tries, led Class D2 by finishing 15th with 142 points.
MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which volleyball programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is an explanation on how the points are accumulated:
1. 20 points for a state title
2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up
3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it received 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking is good for one point.
Nebraska's most dominant volleyball programs since 2007
1. Marian (Omaha) – 399
State titles: 5
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (5th), 2008 (6th), 2009 (1st), 2010 (2nd), 2011 (4th), 2012 (2nd), 2013 (3rd), 2014 (2nd), 2015 (1st), 2016 (5th), 2017 (1st), 2018 (13th), 2019 (17th), 2020 (23rd).
2. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) – 348
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 4
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (18th), 2008 (12th), 2009 (2nd), 2010 (1st), 2011 (1st), 2012 (1st), 2014 (14th), 2015 (6th), 2016 (9th), 2017 (7th), 2019 (10th), 2020 (3rd).
3. Skutt Catholic (Omaha) – 341
State titles: 6
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (10th), 2010 (24th), 2011 (12th), 2013 (13th), 2014 (6th), 2015 (2nd), 2016 (1st), 2017 (2nd), 2018 (2nd), 2019 (1st), 2020 (2nd).
4. Papillion-LaVista (Papillion) – 304
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (2nd), 2008 (1st), 2009 (10th), 2010 (8th), 2011 (23rd), 2012 (18th), 2013 (6th), 2014 (1st), 2015 (8th), 2016 (2nd), 2017 (4th), 2018 (20th), 2019 (2nd), 2020 (5th).
5. Pius X (Lincoln) – 291
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (1st), 2008 (2nd), 2009 (12th), 2010 (9th), 2011 (2nd), 2012 (9th), 2013 (4th), 2016 (24th), 2017 (14th), 2018 (4th), 2019 (3rd), 2020 (7th).
6. Kearney Catholic (Kearney) – 269
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (16th), 2008 (13th), 2009 (15th), 2010 (16th), 2011 (15th), 2012 (3rd), 2013 (8th), 2014 (3rd), 2015 (3rd), 2016 (12th), 2020 (13th).
7. Grand Island Central Catholic (Grand Island) – 257
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (6th), 2008 (7th), 2009 (5th), 2010 (5th), 2011 (13th), 2015 (18th), 2016 (17th), 2017 (9th), 2018 (16th), 2019 (7th), 2020 (16th).
8. Northwest (Grand Island) – 251
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 6
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (7th), 2008 (4th), 2009 (14th), 2010 (11th), 2011 (14th), 2012 (4th), 2013 (1st), 2015 (9th), 2016 (7th), 2017 (18).
9. Millard North (Omaha) – 205
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (4th), 2008 (16th), 2009 (25th), 2010 (10th), 2012 (20th), 2013 (11th), 2016 (6th), 2017 (8th), 2018 (1st), 2019 (4th).
10. Scotus (Columbus) – 203
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (3rd), 2009 (3rd), 2010 (14th), 2011 (3rd), 2012 (5th), 2013 (17th), 2014 (15th), 2015 (15th).
