High school volleyball rankings: Durango Fall Classic certain to shakeup MaxPreps Top 25

By Aaron Williams Sep 19, 2023, 10:30am

Biggest tournament of year includes eight ranked teams in a loaded field.

It's Durango week. That means eight teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school volleyball rankings are converging on Las Vegas for the biggest tournament of the season Friday and Saturday. The results are certain to shake up the rankings next week.

The Durango Fall Classic champion will have earned the trophy and could very well rise to the No. 1 spot in the country. Top-ranked Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), No. 2 Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio), No. 5 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), No. 6 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 9 Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), No. 11 Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), No. 14 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and No. 19 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) all hope to come out on top.

The action will be streamed on BallerTV.

Elsewhere, Blue Valley North (Overland Park, Kan.), Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Hudsonville (Mich.) all join this week's rankings.
Sophomore Halle Thompson is one reason Grand Oaks is No. 4 in the MaxPreps Top 25 volleyball rankings. The outside hitter has 237 kills on the season for the 34-1 Grizzlies. (Photo: Rick Berns)
Sophomore Halle Thompson is one reason Grand Oaks is No. 4 in the MaxPreps Top 25 volleyball rankings. The outside hitter has 237 kills on the season for the 34-1 Grizzlies. (Photo: Rick Berns)
MaxPreps Top 25 volleyball rankings

1. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Record:
15-1 | Last week: 1
Audrey Flanagan led 10 players with a kill in a sweep of Peninsula. In 3-1 win over Palos Verdes, Flanagan led the way with 12 kills and Chloe Hynes added 11 while Charlie Fuerbringer chipped in seven. Costa has two league matches before heading to Durango over the weekend.



2. Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio)
Record:
22-1 | Last week: 2
Grace Carroll and Megan Fitch each had double-digit kills in a sweep of La Vernia. Natalia Jackson and Kaia Thiele combined for 38 assists.

3. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
Record:
17-0 | Last week: 3
The Royals straight-setted Westfield on Wednesday to push their win streak to 51 matches stretching over this season and last.

4. Grand Oaks (Spring, Texas)
Record:
34-1 | Last week: 4
Samara Coleman had 15 kills while Halle Thompson and Jaela Auguste each chipped in 11 in a sweep over Conroe. Audrey Terry had 26 assists in the win.

5. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Record:
14-2 | Last week: 5
Idle last week, the Dons hit the court Wednesday before heading to Vegas to defend their Durango Fall Classic title.

6. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Record:
22-2 | Last week: 6
Setter Julia Kakkis has been a settling force for the Monarchs this season after having to sit last year. She tallied 55 assists in two victories last week and has 405 for the season.

7. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.)
Record:
12-0 | Last week: 7
Lauren Medeck led the offense in a sweep over Pius X with 12 kills while Charlee Solomon had 24 assists and Kyla Dyrstad added 13.

8. Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)
Record:
17-1 | Last week: 8
Pulled out a gutty five-set win against Sacred Heart (Louisville) after losing the first two sets. Charlotte Moriarty led the way with 18 kills while Bailey Blair added 14 and Chloe Smith chipped in 13. Junior setter Emilee Fuller tossed up 57 assists (11.4 per set).



9. Mother McAuley (Chicago, Ill.)
Record:
14-2 | Last week: 9
The Mighty Macs got 25 kills from MaxPreps All American Ellie White in a pair of wins over Downers Grove North (Downers Grove) and St. Laurence (Burbank). Freshman Peyton Heatherly had 27 assists vs. St. Laurence and 15 against Downers Grove North.

10. Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.)
Record:
15-1 | Last week: 10
Junior Lauren Ott has 50 assists in a five-set win over St. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati) as she helped hitters Riley McCloskey (18), Ava Tilden (16), Audrey Dyas (11) and Gracie Portwood (10) to double-digit kills.

11. Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
Record:
16-3 | Last week: 10
The reigning TAPPS 6A champions grabbed a pair of straight set wins Nolan Catholic and Bishop Lynch.

12. Plano West (Plano, Texas)
Record:
18-3 | Last week: 11
Swept Plano on Tuesday as Kate Mansfield had 16 kills while Blaire Bowers had 12 and Reese Poerner added 11. Sophia Wei and Gabby Seeds combined for 42 assists against Plano.

13. Boyd (McKinney, Texas)
Record:
19-1 | Last week: 12
Junior Ariah Augustine had 10 kills in the win over McKinney as Carson Eickenloff and Sara Quigley combined for 34 assists.

14. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record:
16-3 | Last week: 15
Senior Halie McGinest led the Trailblazers in a sweep of Marymount with 13 kills as Sade Ilawole had 29 assists.

15. Pace Academy (Atlanta)
Record:
19-3 | Last week: 11
The Knights look to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Buford against Holy Innocents Episcopal (Atlanta) against Druid Hills on Tuesday.



16. Pope (Marietta, Ga.)
Record:
25-2 | Last week: 16
The Greyhounds grabbed five victories in a tournament win, beating Brookwood (Snellville) twice and 28-5 Hillgrove (Powder Springs).

17. Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.)
Record:
11-0 | Last week: 17
The Trojans straight-setted Edina and handled Buffalo 3-1 last week.

18. Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee)
Record:
20-0 | Last week: 20
Won seven games last week including 2-1 win over Oconomowoc. Madison Quest had 16 kills in the win over the Raccoons as Sophia Wendlick added 10. Jordan Czajkowski had 31 assists.

19. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
Record:
13-0 | Last week: 21
The Monarchs swept Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton), Notre Dame (Belmont) and reigning CIF Division I champion Branson (Ross) across their three matches last week.

20. Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.)
Record:
24-0 | Last week: 22
Junior Kennedy Vaughn had 11 kills in a sweep of Austin (Decatur) and Riley Lovell had 16 assists.

21. Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
Record:
21-3 | Last week: 23
Sydnee Peterson with 17 kills in a sweep over Fossil Ridge. Freshman Sophee Peterson and senior Anna Koster combined for 35 assists in the victory.



22. Dripping Springs (Texas)
Record
: 36-2 | Last week: 24
Sophomore hitter Henley Anderson pounded 26 kills in a five-set win over Austin Westlake while Riley Certain added 16 kills. Presley Alford and Ella Kuhn each had 25 digs in the win while Alford added 29 assists.

23. Blue Valley North (Overland Park, Kan.)
Record:
19-0 | Last week: NR
Senior setter Janelle Green leads the Mustangs with 255 assists while junior Logan Parks has hammered 188 kills. BVN owns wins over Liberty (Mo.), Olathe Northwest and has a showdown Tuesday with Saint Thomas Aquinas and St. James Academy.

24. Punahou (Honolulu)
Record:
18-1 | Last week: NR
Own a pool play win over No. 1 Mira Costa in August while remaining unbeaten against Hawaii opponents. Haumea Marumoto leads Punahou with 172 kills while Lulu Uluave has 143. Senior Rella Binney has 434 assists on the season.

25. Hudsonville (Mich.)
Record:
20-2 | Last week: NR
The Eagles are on a 13-game win streak and have beaten Northville, Saline and Grand Rapids Christian this season. They have a pair of Miss Michigan Volleyball finalists in libero Gianna Bender and outside hitter Isabelle Swiercz.

On the bubble: Alpharetta (Ga.), 22-2; Viera (Fla.), 11-2; Venice (Fla.), 10-2; Flint Hill (Oakton, Va.), 11-2; Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 5-0; Lake Catholic (Mentor, Ohio), 14-0; South Aiken (Aiken, S.C.), 19-1; Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 15-1; Roncalli (Indianapolis), 17-2; Dike-New Hartford (Dike, Iowa), 22-0