Video: Xcellent 25 Girls Volleyball Rankings Presented by The Army National GuardMyckena Guerrero takes a look at this week's Xcellent 25 Girls Volleyball Rankings.
Although Nebraska is still a few weeks out from district play, we have decided to crunch the numbers in hopes of establishing which Cornhusker State volleyball programs have improved the most over a year ago.
After climbing 174 spots over last season in the MaxPreps Volleyball Computer Rankings and improving its won-loss record by an astounding 15.5 games, Maywood/Hayes Center volleyball earns the title "Most Improved" in Nebraska. The Wolves are closing in on our Cornhusker State Top 100, and with a deep postseason run should improve their stock higher yet.
Hastings and Ewing come in at Nos. 2-3 after climbing 127 and 119 spots, respectively. Giltner and Hyannis round out the Top 5 at No. 4 and No. 5. Every classification is represented in this week's Top 10 except for classes A and C1. Nebraska's largest classification is represented by Bellevue East, and its 53 spot jump to this point in the season. Class C1's O'Neill, meanwhile, finished just outside of the Top 10 after climbing an 11th-best 107 spots in the rankings at this time.
In the case of a tie, the program that made the greatest improvement in its won-loss record earned the higher spot. For example, Hartington-Newcastle and Hyannis both improved 116 spots over last season, tied for fifth. Hartington-Newcastle, however, improved its won-loss record by four games, while the Longhorns were better by one game. The Wildcats, therefore, earned the No. 5 spot and Hyannis sits sixth.
Nebraska's Top 10 most improved volleyball teams1. Maywood/Hayes Center (Maywood) +174Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 280th (1-25)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 106th (10-3)
2. Hastings +127Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 157th (11-19)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 30th (9-2)
3. Ewing +119Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 179th (12-14)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 60th (13-2)
4. Giltner +118Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 162nd (12-19)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 44th (12-2)
5. Hartington-Newcastle (Hartington) +116Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 181st (13-13)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 65th (10-2)
6. Hyannis +116Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 177th (19-9)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 61st (12-0)
7. Lawrence-Nelson (Nelson) +115Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 207th (10-21)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 92nd (8-4)
8. Wauneta-Palisade (Wauneta) +114Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 231st (11-14)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 117th (12-4)
9. Mead +112Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 190th (10-17)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 78th (12-3)
10. Kenesaw +108Final 2016-17 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 234th (6-19)
2017-18 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 126th (8-6)