High school volleyball teams across the country are closing in on the second season and putting the regular season to bed with senior nights. Recognizing those who have faithfully served the program is a time-honored tradition but the teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings hope to prolong the goodbyes.
There are several postseason battles shaping up to be must-watch, including Southern California, Northern California, Georgia's AAAAAA bracket and the Class 5A and 6A fields in Texas.
USC commit
Reese Messer was the catalyst for the Thunder in a four-set victory over a Cornerstone squad that has taken on a daunting schedule.
In the second match, Prestonwood junior
Macaria Spears showed her raw power with kill after kill against the defending national champion Cathedral Catholic. The recent Texas commit showcased her arsenal along with a loaded roster that includes
Jadyn Livings,
Camille Edwards and
Kennedy Washington.
St. James Academy setter Reese Messer has helped the Thunder get back into the MaxPreps Top 25 volleyball rankings. SJA downed No. 20 Cornerstone Christian on Friday in a televised match. (Photo: A.J. Hildreth)
Record: 33-2 |
Last week: 1
Cymarah Gordon had 19 kills and
Isabel Clark added 12 kills, 12 digs and four aces in a four-set win over JSerra Catholic on Tuesday. Libero
Malyssa Cawa had 22 digs in the win while
Julia Kakkis dished up 52 assists.
2. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Record: 27-2 |
Last week: 2
Sophomore
Audrey Flanagan hammered 23 kills in five-set win Tuesday over Palos Verdes (Palo Verdes Estates). Senior Bryn Shankle added 10. Junior libero
Taylor Deckert had 29 digs in the win.
Charlie Fuerbringer was named MVP of the Redondo/Costa Molten Tournament.
3. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
Record: 27-0 |
Last week: 3
The Royals ended the regular season with a sweep of Franklin Central (Indianapolis). HSE has won 40 straight conference matches and the seniors didn't drop a single conference set.
4. Grand Oaks (Spring, Texas)
Record: 38-1 |
Last week: 4
Sophomore
Halle Thompson had 27 kills in a pair of sweeps for the Grizzlies last week. In a 3-0 win over Willis,
Jaela Auguste added 11 kills and
Samara Coleman had 10.
Audrey Terry had 43 assists for the week.
5. Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
Record: 28-4 |
Last week: 6
The Warriors were powerful at the net in their televised match against No. 6 Cathedral Catholic.
6. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.)
Record: 30-0 |
Last week: 7
Continued their Midwest dominance with a title at Skutt Catholic's Skyhawk Invite, beating No. 14 Marist for the title while also besting the hosts and Saint Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.).
Lauren Medeck topped 300 kills this season and is closing in on 1,500 for her career.
7. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Record: 23-4 | Last week: 5
The loss to Prestonwood evened the season series as the Dons handled the Warriors at Durango, albeit in a three-set match. Cathedral's
Tiana Owens was a bright spot in the road-trip loss at a very vocal Prestonwood gym.
8. Boyd (McKinney, Texas)
Record: 25-1
| Last week: 8
Winners of 15 in a row, junior
Ale Romo leads the squad with 275 kills and senior
Carson Eickenloff is close behind with 261. Junior setter
Sara Quigley averages 7.0 assists per set (632 total).
9. Pace Academy (Atlanta)
Record: 30-3 |
Last week: 9
Ended the regular season and now aim for a seventh straight state title and second consecutive Class AAAA crown. California commit
Grace Agolli (305 kills) and Penn pledge
Ellie Siskin (301) kills lead the offense while sophomore
Olivia Siskin has dished up 389 assists with Agolli chipping in 262.
10. Mother McAuley (Chicago)
Record: 23-4 |
Last week: 10
Michigan commit
Ellie White continues to lead the Mighty Macs toward a 4A title repeat. She has hammered 331 kills on the season while freshman
Peyton Heatherly shines on the big stage with 449 assists in her first season.
11. Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.)
Record: 25-3 |
Last week: 11
Straight-setted Ryle (Union) on Thursday as they prepare for a regular season finale against No. 13 Assumption.
Ava Tilden had 12 kills against Ryle and sophomore
Lizzy Larkins dished up 21 assists.
12. Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Record: 39-1 |
Last week: 12
The Dashers swept through the field at their tournament to remain undefeated against in-state opponents.
Madison Quest and
Sophia Wendlick fuel the offense with nearly 900 combined kills.
13. Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 27-5 |
Last week: 13
Swept Louisville foe Mercy as junior setter
Emilee Fuller tossed up 23 assists. A showdown against Notre Dame Academy to end the regular season could be a preview of the state finals.
14. Marist (Chicago)
Record: 26-4 |
Last week: 15
Climb one spot despite their Skyhawk Invite final loss to No. 6 Papillion-LaVista South, beating Saint Thomas Aquinas, Skutt and Papillion-LaVista.
15. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 31-5 |
Last week: 17
Four of the five losses are to teams ranked higher than the Trailblazers as
Danica Rach paces the offense with 254 kills and freshman
Hanna McGinest has added 235.
Sade Ilawole has kept the ball moving with 843 assists this season.
16. Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.)
Record: 25-0 |
Last week: 18
The Trojans are three matches from an unbeaten regular season and have only dropped four sets all year. They swept through the field at the Fall Classic over the weekend at St. Michael-Albertville.
17. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
Record: 23-4 |
Last week: NR
The NorCal representative for the CIF Open Division final could come down to the Monarchs and No. 18 Saint Francis. Mitty took the latest battle between WCAL foes with a 2-0 win in the final of the Stockton Classic.
18. Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.)
Record: 27-4 |
Last week: 10
The Lancers have split with Mitty this season, with each winning a five-set match as well as a tournament victory. Saint Francis, led by
Taylor Williams and
Erin Curtis, jumped back into the rankings last week on the strength of their Nike TOC Southwest title.
19. St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.)
Record: 28-3 |
Last week: NR
Showed out for the Sunflower State in the televised match against No. 20 Cornerstone Christian. Junior
Reese Messer set the tone for SJA, which was the 5A runner-up last season. She has 709 assists on the season.
20. Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas)
Record: 34-6 |
Last week: 16
The second straight loss for the Warriors came on the ESPN streamed event. All the loses this season are to ranked opponents as Cornerstone puts together a stout national schedule. They own a Nike TOC Southeast title.
21. Hudsonville (Mich.)
Record: 34-2 |
Last week: 22
Four wins on Saturday earned the Eagles a Jenison Invite title and a 27-match win streak. Miss Michigan candidates
Isabelle Swiercz (334 kills) and
Megan Beemer (477 assists) pace the squad.
22. Alpharetta (Ga.)
Record: 32-2 |
Last week: 23
Enter the postseason without a loss in AAAAAA play and on a 31-match win streak. Their two losses were Aug. 8 and 10 to No. 9 Pace Academy and North Cobb (Kennesaw). Senior
Logan Wiley has 308 kills on the year and
Abigail Li has dished up 881 assists.
23. Pope (Marietta, Ga.)
Record: 32-3 |
Last week: 24
A postseason collision course with Alpharetta appears possible. The Greyhounds' last loss was to Alpharetta on Sept. 21, 3-0.
24. Lake Catholic (Mentor, Ohio)
Record: 20 |
Last week: 25
Katie Sowko hammered 17 kills in a sweep of Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls) and
Natalya Bergant had 13 kills in a 3-0 win over Padua Franciscan (Parma).
25. Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
Record: 38-4 |
Last week: NR
Entering the rankings for the first time this season, the Cavaliers are on a 14-match win streak. They are led by senior hitters
Avery Hamlin (372 kills) and
Camden Besecker (281 kills) and senior setter
Kacey Kazmierski (1,140 assists).
On the bubble: Seton (Cincinnati), 18-2;
Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 25-2;
Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), 40-1;
Xavier College Prep (Phoenix), 22-4;
Yorktown (Ind.), 23-5;
Dike-New Hartford (Dike, Iowa), 36-0;
Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 23-2;
Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 20-0;
Dripping Springs (Texas), 41-3;
Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas), 25-4
