MaxPreps Top 25 national high school volleyball rankings

Showdown time has arrived for three Texas teams ranked in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Rankings, as No. 1 The Woodlands faces Clear Falls (40-6) and No. 3 Southlake Carroll takes on No. 11 San Antonio Churchill in the Texas 5A state semifinals later this week.

The winners meet in Saturday's 5A title game.

Carroll's lone loss this season is to The Woodlands — more than three months ago. And Churchill, loser just twice in 48 matches, lost to Carroll on Aug. 17.

Anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Texas state tournament is No. 2 St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) which completed its season two weeks ago unbeaten (47-0) and with its sixth straight state title.

With its second straight Washington large schools championship, Bellarmine (Tacoma, Wash.) moved to No. 4 as it finished the season 35-0.

Granite Bay advanced in the California Interscholastic Federation postseason with its 39th straight victory without a loss and took over No. 5 in this week's Top 25.

Rounding out the Top 25 were East Troy (Wis.), Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.), Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), Mother McAuley (Chicago) and Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.).

New this week to the Top 25 are Eagan (Minn.), Grandview (Aurora, Colo.), Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.) and previously-ranked Winter Park (Fla.).

Winter Park captured its second straight Florida 8A title, Grandview won its first Colorado 5A title and Egan won Minnesota's large schools state championship. Great Oak won its 19th straight and upset California power Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) in the process.

Other Top 25 teams concluding their seasons with state titles this week were Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.), Mother McAuley (Chicago), St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.), Dike-New Hartford (Dike, Iowa), Immaculate Heart (New Township, N.J.), Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.) and Bettendorf (Iowa).

Be sure to check out the MaxPreps high school volleyball playoff brackets for each state.

*State Champion


1. (1 last week) The Woodlands (Texas), 43-0
The Highlanders cruised into the Texas 5A final four with 3-0 wins over Allen, Kingwood and Plano. They play No. 11 Churchill on Friday. The Woodlands has outscored their foes, 111-4 this season and last lost a set 17 matches ago.

*2. (2) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 47-0, season complete
St. James won its won sixth straight state title and has won 56 straight matches over the last two seasons.

3. (3) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 46-1
The Lady Dragons have won 39 straight and haven't lost a set since August. They play 38-6 Clear Falls on Thursday in the Texas 5A semifinals. Their only loss this season was on Aug. 17 against No. 1 ranked The Woodlands, 2-1.

*4. (5) Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.), 35-0, season complete
With a 3-2 win over Curtis (University Place, Wash.), the Lions won their second-straight state 4A title. The sets were 25-22, 18-25, 25-17, 18-25, 15-9 as the Lions were forced into a fifth set for the first time this season. In winning, Bellarmine becomes only the sixth 4A team in Washington history to win back-to-back titles.

5. (7) Granite Bay (Calif.), 39-0
In running its streak to 39, Granite Bay has outscored its foes 96-5. With three-straight playoff wins, Granite Bay moves to CIF Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals.

*6. (4) East Troy (Wis.), 44-0, season complete
The Trojans won the state D2 title.

*7. (6) Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.), 28-0, season complete
The Crusaders won their fifth consecutive N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A volleyball title, a state record.

*8. (12) Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 38-1-2, season complete
The Lancers finished with 29 straight wins and won their third straight state title. Lafayette's only loss was to No. 2 St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) in early September.

*9. (9) Mother McAuley (Chicago), 40-2, season complete
Defeated Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 2-0 (25-19, 25-22), to win the 4A state title. The Macs lost only to Top 25 teams from Louisville — Mercy and Assumption — this season.

10. (11) Santiago (Corona, Calif.), 35-0
Santiago continued its perfect season in beating CIF Southern Section rivals Alta Loma and St Bonaventure, 3-0. The Sharks have yet to lose a set this season (83-0). Santiago plays Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) on Tuesday in the CIF II-AA semifinals.

11. (12) Churchill (San Antonio), 46-2
Churchill beat New Braunfels and Reagan (San Antonio), 3-2, and took out Rowe (McAllen), 3-0, to earn a spot in the Texas 5A semifinals against No. 1 The Woodlands on Friday.

*12. (13) Dike-New Hartford (Dike, Iowa), 45-1, season complete
By beating Regina (Iowa City), Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and Western Christian, Dike stretched its win streak to 39 and more importantly won the state 2A title for the third-straight year. Brooke Morgan, Rachel Koop and Briana Weber were named All-Tournament. No. 2 St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) is the lone team to beat the Wolverines this season. DNH hasn't lost to an Iowa opponent in 99 matches.

*13. (14) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 45-2, season complete
Behind Nia Reed's 10 kills and Caitlyn Floyd's six aces and 21 assists, Heart defeated Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) to win the non-public state title.

14. (15) Notre Dame Prep (Pontiac, Mich.), 59-2-1
Winners of 18 straight, Prep holds a 135-5 margin over opponents this season and plays 61-6-3 North Branch Center (Mich.) on Tuesday in the state quarterfinals.

15. (NR) Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.), 27-1
Great Oak knocked off Redondo Union in four games in a CIF-Southern Section Division 1AA quarterfinal, 17-25, 25-16, 25-21, 27-25, to advance to the semifinal. The Southwestern League champions will take their 19-match winning streak into a semifinal Tuesday night at Mater Dei (Santa Ana).

*16. (16) Avon (Ind.), 37-3, season complete
In winning its final 26 matches, Avon has won back-to-back state titles.

*17. (17) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 37-6, season complete
The Rockets won their fourth straight state title.

*18. (20) Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.), 23-0, season complete
The Red Raiders swept Newton North 3-0 for their fourth Division 1 state title in a row and 10th in 11 years. They did not lose a game this postseason. In the last four seasons, the Red Raiders are 88-3.

*19. (23) St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.), 38-3, season complete
St. Francis beat Peru (LaSalle), 2-0 (25-7, 25-9) to repeat as 3A state champions. All three Spartan losses this season were to Mother McAuley (Chicago).

20. (23) Bettendorf (Iowa), 37-2
Bettendorf beat Hemstead (Dubuque), Centennial (Ankeny) and Dowling Catholic to win the state large school title for the second straight year. Devan Porter, Caitlin Wementin and Anna Willey were named all-tournament.

*21. (25) Kamehameha (Honolulu), 30-2, season over
Kamehamaha won the Hawaii D1 state title.

*22. (NR) Eagan (Minn.), 30-2, season complete
Led by senior Taylr McNeil's 36 kills, Eagan won Minnesota's large schools title with a 3-2 win over Delano.

23. (21) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 37-2, season complete
State runner-up.

*24. (NR) Winter Park (Fla.), 30-3, season complete
Winter Park recorded its second straight 8A state title with a 3-1 over Lake Mary. At the state tournament, Winter Park also beat previously-ranked Jupiter, Palm Harbor, Treasure Coast (Port St. Lucie) and Vero Beach.

*25. (NR) Grandview (Aurora, Colo.), 27-2, season complete
Led by libero Sydney Ederhoff, the Wolves captured the 5A state title with a win over Arapahoe (Centennial) to finish the season with 23 straight match wins. In their final dozen matches, the Wolves lost just one set.

Dropped Out:
No. 11 Veterans Memorial (Mission, Texas)
No. 19 St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio)
No. 20 Carmel (Ind.)
No. 24 Jupiter (Fla.)