St. James Academy rises in volleyball rankings

St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) makes the biggest jump this week in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings presented by Army National Guard after taking first place at the St. Joseph's Academy Tournament of Champions in St. Louis, Mo.

The Thunder disposed of three defending state champion and another team, host St. Joseph's Academy, that was ranked No. 1 in the country by one publication to claim the championship trophy. The wins boosted St. James Academy from the No. 13 spot all the way up past Assumption to No. 4.

St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) and Sacred Heart (Louisville, Kent.) were two victims of St. James' success. Sacred Heart lost to Assumption over the weekend and also had a previous loss to St. Joseph's Academy, which in turn fell to Mercy and St. James Academy.

Those two teams, along with St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.) and Chaparral (Parker, Colo.) fell out of this week's rankings and were replaced by Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), Martin County (Stuart, Fla.) and Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.).



Here's a look at the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings presented by the Army National Guard:

MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS

1. (1) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 8-0
The Buccaneers won twice last week, topping Palm Harbor University (Palm Harbor, Fla.), 3-0, and Tampa Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 3-0. Amber Mirabello had 12 kills and Jordan Burgess had 11 against Palm Harbor University and then added 17 and 14 kills respectively against Tampa Prep. Berkeley Prep holds its own tournament this weekend and will open with defending 5A state champion Martin County.

2. (2) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 8-0
The Titans showed that their earlier win over defending state champion Marian (Omaha, Neb.) was no fluke as Papillion-LaVista South swept the champs 25-17, 25-18, 25-18 on Sept. 14 in their only match of the week.

3. (3) Muncie Burris (Muncie, Ind.), 16-0
The Owls won their only match of the week, topping Class A Cowan 25-12, 25-16, 25-16. Taylor Morey had 12 kills and seven digs while Arijana Anderson added 11 kills for Muncie Burris.

4. (13) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 16-0
The Thunder picked up another impressive tournament win, knocking off three defending state champions en route to a first place finish at the St. Joseph's Tournament of Champions in St. Louis. In pool play, St. James topped Oklahoma 5A state champion Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.) and also beat DuPont Manuel (Louisville, Kent.) and St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis, Mo.). In the semifinals, St. James shut out defending Kentucky state champion Mercy (Louisville, Kent.), 25-12, 25-16, and then whipped defending Kansas 5A state champion Bishop Miege 25-13, 25-12.

5. (4) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 16-2
The Rockets prepped for a their trip to the Durango Classic this weekend with three matches, all wins. Assumption whipped Seneca (Louisville, Kent.) 2-0 and then traveled to Indiana to shut out Floyd Central (Floyds Knobs, Ind.), 3-0. On Sunday, Assumption defeated Sacred Heart 3-2.



6. (5) Redlands East Valley (Redlands, Calif.), 2-0
The Wildcats head into the Durango Classic this weekend with a 2-0 mark after whipping Citrus Belt League foe Redlands 25-12, 25-8, 25-22 last week. Krista Vansant led the team with 18 kills while Alyssa Mason added 14.

7. (7) La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.), 6-0
The Torreys captured first place at the Archbishop Mitty Tournament in San Jose, topping Bullard (Fresno, Calif.), Dos Pueblos (Goleta, Calif.), and Santa Barbara (Calif.) before topping Presentation (San Jose, Calif.), 3-1, in the finals. Chloe Mathis led the way, racking up 42 assists in the championship match.

8. (8) Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio), 10-0
The Lions won four times last week, beating Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio), 3-2, St. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio), 3-0, Butler (Vandalia, Ohio), 2-0, and St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), 2-1. Olivia Johnson had 14 kills against Mount Notre Dame while Kate Reilly had 11. Mount Notre Dame was ranked No. 2 in the state coaches poll, behind Ursuline Academy, while St. Ursula Academy of Toledo was ranked No. 3.

9. (9) Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 7-0
The Rampants made quick work of Hoggard (Wilmington, N.C.) last week, winning 25-18, 25-23, 25-21, in a league match. Emily Steele had 11 kills and Ashton Lee added 10.

10. (10) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 31-1
The Greyhounds rebounded from their only loss of the season to win nine straight matches, including a 2-0 win over Woodward Academy, ranked No. 1 in the AAA Georgia state coaches poll, in the finals of the Gold Bracket at the Lovett Block Party tournament. Pope also defeated McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.) in the semifinals.

11. (11) King (Corpus Christi, Texas), 29-3
The Mustangs won a pair of matches last week, including a 3-2 win over Wimberly, which is ranked No. 2 in the state 3A coaches poll. King also topped Orange Grove in three games.



12. (12) Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.), 15-0
The Trojans are still ranked No. 1 in Illinois after blanking Huntley (Ill.) 2-0 and Jacobs (Algonquin, Ill.) last week.

13. (16) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 29-1
The Wildcats won their last three matches, defeating Jersey Village (Houston, Texas), 3-0, Cypress Springs (Cypress, Texas), 3-0 and Langham Creek (Houston, Texas), 3-0. Daniela Arenas had 26 kills in the wins over Jersey Village and Cypress Springs combined.

14. (17) Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.), 31-2
The Panthers won twice last week, beating Buckhorn (New Market, Ala.) 3-0 and Hazel Green (Ala.) 3-0. Kenzie Broome had 11 kills against Hazel Green.

15. (18) Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 2-0
The Crusaders opened their season with a pair of 3-0 wins over Sprague (Salem, Ore.) and Canby (Ore.). MaxPreps All-American Elizabeth Brenner had a huge effort in both wins, getting 21 kills and five blocks against Sprague and 16 kills against Canby.

16. (19) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 28-1
The Mustangs won the Mt. Morris Classic, going 6-0 without dropping a game. Marian defeated Pinkney 2-0 win the finals with Alexandra Lovell notching four kills in the 25-7, 25-6 victory.

17. (NR) Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 10-2
The only two losses for Bishop Miege this year have come against St. James Academy. The Stags finished second at the St. Joseph's Academy Tournament of Champions in St. Louis and defeated defending Kentucky state champion Mercy.



18. (14) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 17-4
The Jaguars went 3-2 at the St. Joseph's Academy Tournament of Champions, falling to Bishop Miege 2-1 and eventual champion St. James Academy 2-0. Mercy defeated host St. Joseph's Academy 2-1.

19. (22) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 28-3
The Leopards dropped Argyle (Texas) 3-0 and Horn (Mesquite, Texas) 3-0 last week to stay atop the No. 1 ranking in the Texas 3A coaches poll.

20. (23) Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.), 14-0
The Gators won twice last week, beating Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.) 3-0 and Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 3-0. Bianca Arellano had 21 assists against Highland and had 29 assists, eight kills in the victory over Desert Mountain. Xavier College Prep plays in the Durango Classic this weekend.

21 (NR) Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.), 12-0
Ranked second in the state of Illinois by the Chicago Sun Times, the Lions finished second in the state last year to Cary-Grove. Lyons picked up three wins over the weekend, topping Joliet West (Joliet, Ill.), Normal (Normal, Ill.) and Minooka (Minooka, Ill.), all by 2-0 scores.

22 (NR) Martin County (Stuart, Fla.), 8-0
Martin County extended its winning streak to 33 games with a victory over Cardinal Gibbons in the East Coast Challenge. Nicole Walch had 10 kills, 13 digs and five aces in the championship game and had 43 kills for the tournament. Martin County faces Berkeley Prep at the Berkeley Prep Tournament this weekend.

23. (NR) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 3-0
The 2008 national champions, the Mavericks topped defending California Division III champion Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.) last week and also topped Poway (Poway, Calif.) 3-1. The Mavericks head to the Durango Classic in Las Vegas this weekend.



24. (24) Hebron (Carrollton, Texas), 29-4
The Hawks won twice last week, beating Plano 3-1 and Lewisville 3-0. Tiffany Baker leads the Hawks in kills this year with 290.

25. (25) Edmond Memorial (Edmond, Okla.), 17-2
The Bulldogs defeated Del City (Okla.) in their only match last week. Edmond Memorial had a loss to Union (Tulsa, Okla.) that wasn't previously reported, but the Bulldogs defeated Union at the Heather Harkness Tournament last week in a rematch.