MaxPreps top 25 national high school volleyball rankings

Video: Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard: August 31
See a breakdown of the movers and shakers in prep volleyball.

Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.) moved atop the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, as Cathedral (Indianapolis) was knocked from the No. 1 spot it had held since the middle of the 2015 season, dropping to No. 18 after a loss to Crown Point.

Sacred Heart (3-0) might not have a lot of time to celebrate with a Tuesday showdown against crosstown rival Assumption, ranked No. 5 and the defending Kentucky state champion. Assumption's lone loss this season was to Indianapolis Cathedral.

Mater Dei remains No. 2 and opens the season Tuesday, while Fayetteville jumped from No. 7 to No. 3 by opening with a pair of lopsided wins led by junior all-Americans Haley Warner and Ella May Powell.



Walton has opened with 14 straight wins and moved from No. 11 into the Top 10 at No. 8.

Cathedral's loss came during a week when six other Top 25 teams lost and dropped from the rankings. New to Top 25 this week are Baylor, Oak Ridge, Yorktown, Divine Savior Holy Angels, Boyd and Geneva.

1. (3 last week) Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), 3-0
Sacred Heart, coming off impressive wins over Mercy and Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.), faces No. 5 Assumption on Wednesday.

2. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 0-0
The Monarchs opened the season on Tuesday at Sage Hill (Newport Beach).

3. (7) Fayetteville (Ark.), 2-0
The Bulldogs opened the season with impressive wins over Ozark (Mo.) and Greenwood (Ark.), as Haley Warner recorded 43 kills in seven sets.

4. (4) Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), 8-1
The Mustangs take the court for the first time since mid-August (when they won the Kang Invitational in Honolulu) on Wednesday when they host Flintridge Sacred Heart (La Canada-Flintridge).



5. (5) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 4-1
The Rockets' only loss is 3-1 to Indianapolis Cathedral. Next up: No. 1 Sacred Heart on Wednesday.

6. (6) Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 8-1
The Eagles, runner ups at Honolulu's Kang Invite in mid-August, hosted Marymount (Los Angeles) on Tuesday.

7. (8) Pleasant Grove (Utah), 3-0
The Vikings opened the season with a trio of wins without losing a set. They beat Bingham (South Jordan) twice 3-0, then blanked Desert Hills (St. George), 2-0.

8. (11) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 14-0
The Raiders opened the season with a win to end Buford's winning streak at 43 and have won 13 more since, including a second win over Buford. Dalaney Hans is averaging 10.8 assists per set.

9. (9) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 0-0
The Huskies opened the season at No. 21 Gilbert on Tuesday.

10. (10) Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.), 1-0
The Hornets, who beat Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 3-0, host South Lake (Groveland) on Wednesday.



11. (13) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 4-0
The defending state champs opened the season with a 4-0 record in the San Jose Spikefest, losing just one set. Next up is Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista).

12. (NR) Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 14-0
The Red Raiders, who started the season ranked No. 33 in the MaxPreps Preseason Xcellent 50, have outscored their foes 33-1. They have two wins over previously ranked Brentwood.

13. (12) Torrey Pines (San Diego), 0-0
The Falcons open the season Sept. 8, hosting Cathedral Catholic (San Diego).

14. (NR) Oak Ridge (Conroe, Texas), 20-0
Led by Brooke Clark (4.5 kills per set), Hailey Lohnes (32 aces), Raigen Cianciulli (6.3 digs) and Carly Graham (9.1 assists), the War Eagles are off to the best start in Texas. They own tournament titles at the Nike KCF and Magnolia events.

15. (16) Blue Valley West (Stilwell, Kan.), 1-0
The reigning state large school champions opened the season with a 2-0 win over previously No. 17 Northwest (Olathe).

16. (NR) Yorktown (Ind.), 4-0
Led by sophomore Kenzie Knuckles (averaging four kills, an ace and four digs per set) and setter Bella Rosenthall (10 assists per set), Yorktown is off to a 4-0 start with four straight 3-0 wins.



17. (NR) Geneva (Ill.), 2-0
Geneva opened with two convincing wins, but things get tougher with Wheaton North and St. Charles North this week.

18. (1) Cathedral (Indianapolis), 5-1
Crown Point (5-2) ended the Fighting Irish's win streak at 41, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 (19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 28-26, 13-15). Cathedral bounced back to blank Zionsville, 3-0.

19. (NR) Boyd (McKinney, Texas), 16-3
Led by seniors Lexi Lambert, Paige Anderson and Jordan Kiley, Boyd captured the Lone Star Circle of Champions tournament.

20. (20) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 0-0
The state's D-I champions open the season Sept. 8, hosting Bishop Montgomery (Torrance).

21. (21) Gilbert (Ariz.), 0-0
Gilbert hosted No. 9 Hamilton (Chandler) on Tuesday.

22. (NR) Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee), 7-1
Led by senior Katie Rolfe, Divine has won seven straight since losing its opener to Catholic Memorial (Waukesha) and captured the Joust Invitational over the weekend.



23. (23) Shawnee Heights (Tecumseh, Kan.), 1-0
The T-birds opened the season with a 2-0 (25-19, 25-18) win against Olathe East. Next up is St. James Academy (Lenexa) on Tuesday.

24. (24) Eagan (Minn.), 0-0
The Wildcats open the season Tuesday, hosting Southwest Christian (Chaska).

25. (19) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 16-3
The Leopards placed third at the Lone Star Circle of Champions.

Dropped out: Brentwood (Tenn.), Carroll (Southlake, Texas), Buford (Ga.), Northwest (Olathe, Kan.), Catholic Memorial (Waukesha, Wis.) and Hebron (Texas).