Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) is the new No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school volleyball rankings after winning the Durango Fall Classic for the second consecutive year.
Taking home the trophy from the nation's toughest tournament puts the Monarchs in the driver's seat to become the first team since since
Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.) in 2010 and 2011 to be crowned national champions in back-to-back seasons.
After going 3-0 in pool play and beating No. 24
Marist (Chicago, Ill.) 2-1 in the qualifying round, Mater Dei swept newly-ranked
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 2-0, outlasted previous No. 1
Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) 2-1 and beat No. 5
Marymount (Los Angeles, Calif.) 25-18, 24-26, 28-26 in the final.
"To win this is special, because it's a new team (from last year)," Mater Dei coach Dan O'Dell said. "And it's extra special for those girls that were able to be part of it last year and help this year's team win."
Mater Dei is the fourth team to win back-to-back Durango titles, joining
Assumption (Louisville, Ky.),
Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and
Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.).
Marymount, No. 14 Sierra Canyon and No. 22
Los Alamitos (Calif.) all enter the rankings. Read on for a complete look at the post-Durango MaxPreps Top 25.
Mater Dei vaults to No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school volleyball rankings on the strength of its Durango Fall Classic title in Las Vegas over the weekend. The Monarchs are one of four schools to win back-to-back titles at the event. (Photo: Jann Hendry)
Record: 21-3 |
Last week: 11
Westley Matavao was named tournament MVP while
Layli Ostovar,
Presley Kiffin and
Sam Capinpin all were named to the all-tournament team at the Durango Fall Classic.
2. Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
Record: 24-1 |
Last week: 2
The Bobcats kept rolling with sweeps of V.R. Eaton (Fort Worth) and Northwest (Justin).
3. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
Record: 18-1 |
Last week: 3
A Tuesday showdown with No. 13 Roncalli is not to be missed. The two are in different classifications, so this is a de facto mid-season championship battle.
4. Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)
Record: 17-0 |
Last week: 4
A perfect weekend ended with a title at the Wheaton Classic. The Red Wings did not drop a set.
5. Marymount (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Record: 20-3 |
Last week: NR
Samantha Destler,
Elle Vandeweghe and
Olivia Penske earned all-tournament honors at Durango.
6. Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
Record: 24-2 |
Last week: 1
Macaria Spears and setter
Taylor Cook were all-tournament selections at Durango.
7. Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Record: 20-0 | Last week: 7
8. Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas)
Record: 23-2 |
Last week: 5
The losses are to No. 6 Prestonwood Christian in August and to No. 5 Marymount in the semifinals at Durango.
Megan Fitch and
Sydney Whisenton were all-tournament picks.
9. Dripping Springs (Texas)
Record: 34-2 |
Last week: 9
Henley Anderson had 18 kills in a sweep of Bowie while adding 21 in a 3-0 victory over Austin Westlake.
10. Plant (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 14-0 |
Last week: 10
Maggie Dostic continues to paces the Panthers as the Sunshine State's top squad. She is hitting .309 on the season.
11. Alpharetta (Ga.)
Record: 28-0 |
Last week: 14
Won the A5 Southeast Championship title, beating Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.) in the final.
12. Cypress Ranch (Houston, Texas)
Record: 27-5 |
Last week: 13
Taylor Porter tallied 27 kills in a pair of sweeps last week.
13. Roncalli (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Record: 20-0 |
Last week: 15
The Royals got past Perry Meridian (Indianapolis) ahead of Tuesday's showdown with No. 3 Hamilton Southeastern.
14. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 18-2 |
Last week: NR
Libero
Lauren Lynch was named to the Durango all-tournament team while hitters
Hanna McGinest and
Eva Jeffries shined offensively.
15. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Record: 15-5 |
Last week: 12
Audrey Flanagan was the Mustangs' all-tournament pick at Durango.
16. Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Record: 12-1 |
Last week: 24
The Gators won the Silver Bracket title at Durango, rolling past Assumption, No. 24 Marist and Los Alamitos after falling to Mira Costa in the qualifying round.
Vivian Hickman was named to the all-tournament team.
17. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.)
Record: 24-3 |
Last week: 6
After winning their pool, the Dons were straight-setted by Marymount in the qualifying round and fell to Xavier College Prep before rebounding with wins over Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.) and No. 25 Carrollwood Day.
18. Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas)
Record: 22-7 |
Last week: 17
Sophomore
Gentry Barker leads the Leopards with 285 kills as they look for a second straight Class 5 title.
19. Mercy (Farmington Hills, Mich.)
Record: 16-0 |
Last week: 18
Setter
Campbell Flynn (223 assists) and sophomore hitter
Kate Kalczynski (98 kills) have the Marlins perfect in their quest for back-to-back Division 1 titles.
20. Mount St. Mary (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Record: 25-1 |
Last week: 22
Ella Hale has 364 kills (5.1 per set),
Georgia Ahlert has 253 and freshman
Isabella Williams has added 216.
21. Yorktown (Ind.)
Record: 17-2 |
Last week: 23
In just 30 sets,
Charlotte Vinson has 127 kills after coming back from a near-death illness in the spring.
22. Los Alamitos (Calif.)
Record: 21-4 |
Last week: NR
The Griffins fell to Prestonwood Christian in the Durango qualifying round before wins over Marist and Assumption. They fell 2-1 to Xavier College Prep in the Silver Bracket final.
23. Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
Record: 16-6 |
Last week: 19
Abby Zimmerman was a Durango all-tournament choice as the SeaHawks fell to Prestonwood and Sierra Canyon in bracket play. No. 15 Mira Costa is on the schedule Thursday in a league match.
24. Marist (Chicago, Ill.)
Record: 12-3 |
Last week: 20
The RedHawks fell to Mater Dei and Los Alamitos in the Championship Division bracket play before beating Branson (Ross, Calif.) 2-1 in their final Durango match. Hitters
Ava Stratton and
Maggie Kurpeikis stood out and filled the void left by Northwestern commit
Bella Bullington, who didn't play while rehabbing an injury.
25. Carrollwood Day (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 17-3 |
Last week: 16
Swept through Durango pool play but dropped two of three in bracket play. They were without MaxPreps All-American
Lydia Chinchar (illness), but proved to be scrappy behind
Elena Dibbs-Frantz,
Lorelei Church and
Jansen Warbritton.
On the bubble: Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 18-4;
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 10-0;
Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.), 13-9;
Stratford (Houston, Texas), 26-2;
Blue Valley West (Stilwell, Kan.), 10-1;
Gilmour Academy (Gates Mills, Ohio), 13-1;
Lakeville North (Lakeville, Minn.), 15-0;
Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 7-0;
Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 23-5;
Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas),19-7
