Muncie Burris is a small-school volleyball powerhouse in the state of Indiana, but the Owls made a big statement with their win on Saturday.
Burris knocked off Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, to win the Burris Invitational over the weekend.
"That was for anyone who ever doubted this team coming into the season, who thought we weren't going to be good and we were just going to roll over," Burris junior
Taylor Morey told the Muncie Star Press. "We're Burris volleyball and we don't roll over. We'll come out after you no matter who you are."
With the loss, Assumption drops to No. 5 in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 and Muncie Burris moves up to No. 4. Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) takes over the No. 1 spot while Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.) and Pope (Marietta, Ga.) each move up one spot as well to fill out the top five.
Here's a look at the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings:
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. (Last week 2) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 2-0
The Buccaneers romped past St. Petersburg Catholic 3-0 and shut out Tampa Catholic 3-0 to open the season. Last week's win over Fort Myers was a preseason match. Berkeley Prep also topped Plant 3-0 in a preseason match on August 24. Results for Friday's match with Academy of the Holy Names was unavailable.
MacKenzie Dagostino had 13 assists in the St. Petersburg Catholic win and 20 in the victory over Tampa Catholic.
2. (3) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 7-0
The Titans opened their season with seven straight wins, including a 25-13, 25-14 win over defending state champion Marian (Omaha, Neb.) in the finals of the Bellevue Invitational. Amber Rolfzen had 12 kills and Kadie Rolfzen had nine in the final match against Marian. The teams meet again at Marian on Sept. 14.
3. (4) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 22-0
The Greyhounds played only two matches last week, topping Eagles Landing Christian Academy 2-0 and Northview 2-0. Pope, ranked No. 1 in the Georgia AAAA coaches poll, has a rematch with Walton, ranked No. 1 in the AAAAA coaches poll, on Thursday. Pope defeated Walton 2-1 earlier this year in tournament play.
4. (7) Muncie Burris (Muncie, Ind.), 13-0
The Owls knocked off No. 1 ranked Assumption 13-25, 25-21, 15-8 to win the Burris Invitational on Saturday and extend their winning streak to 61 matches in a row.
5. (1) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 8-1
The Rockets dropped their first match of the season, falling to Muncie Burris at the Burris Invitational on Saturday. The Rockets also defeated Wapahani, Fort Wayne Snider and Delta during the one-day tournament. Earlier in the week, the Rockets got big wins over Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.) and Muncie Central (Muncie, Ind.). Assumption, which entered the season ranked No. 3 in the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association rankings, knocked off No. 2 Sacred Heart 3-0 on Wednesday with
Jeni Houser blasting 10 kills. The Rockets also swept Muncie Central, the defending Indiana 4A state champions and No. 1-ranked 4A team in the Hoosier State, 3-0. Assumption has another tough battle this week when it tackles defending Kentucky state champion Mercy tonight.
6. (6) Redlands East Valley (Redlands, Calif.), 0-0
The Wildcats open the season Sept. 7 at home against Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.).
7. (10) St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis, Mo.), 2-0
The Angels won their first two matches of the season, topping Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 2-1, and Duchesne (St. Charles, Mo.), 2-0.
Taylor Masterson had 10 kills in the opener against Lafayette while
Helen Boyle had nine against Duchesne. St. Joseph's Academy plays in the Louisville Invitational this weekend.
Nicole Dalton, Chaparral
Photo by Ray Chen
The Torreys begin the year at Poway (Calif.) on Sept. 9.
9. (12) Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio), 2-0
The Lions shut out Archbishop Alter (Kettering, Ohio) 3-0 to start the season and also blanked Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.) 3-0 last week.
Elena Lohr had 12 kills against Archbishop Alter while
Olivia Johnson had 10 against Notre Dame Academy.
10. (13) Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 2-0
The Stags topped Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.), the defending 6A state champion, 2-0 and also beat Gardner-Edgerton (Gardner, Kan.), 2-0, to start the season. The Stags meet Blue Valley West this week and will play in the Titan Invitational at Lee's Summit West this weekend.
11. (16) Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 3-0
The Rampants defeated South Central (Winterville, N.C.) 3-1 with
Jamie Deratt smashing 12 kills and
Lee Ashton adding 11. The Rampants will be without standout hitter
Caroline Douglas until October due to a knee injury.
12. (21) Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.), 3-0
The Raptors added two wins last week, blanking Hillsboro (Nashville, Tenn.) 3-0 and Franklin (Tenn.) 3-0.
13. (23) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 9-0
The Jaguars remained unbeaten on the season, knocking off DuPont Manual (Louisville, Ky.) 3-0 and Providence (Clarksville, Ind.) 3-0 last week. Mercy has a big game against Assumption tonight on the Rockets' home court.
14. (NR) King (Corpus Christi, Texas), 25-3
The Mustangs moved into the No. 1 spot in the 5A rankings in Texas after winning the 76-team Pearland Tournament. King defeated several top teams en route to the championship, including 3A No. 1 Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), Westlake (Austin, Texas) and Hebron (Carrollton, Texas).
15. (NR) Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.), 8-0
The defending 4A state champions are off to a strong start at 8-0 including a championship game victory over Stevenson at the Jacobs Invitational over the weekend.
Kelly Lamberti had 12 kills in the finals and had 51 in the five matches at the invitational.
16. (8) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 25-1
The Wildcats rebounded from their first loss of the season two weeks ago to win a pair of games last week, topping Cy-Fair 3-0 and Cypress Falls 3-0.
Daniela Arenas and
Sydni Schulz each had 10 kills in the win over Cy-Fair. Arenas leads the team with 312 kills on the season. The Wildcats have dropped to third in the Texas Girls Coaches Association 5A state poll.
17. (22) Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 0-0
Opens season with Central Catholic Jamboree on Sept. 11.
18. (24) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 21-1
The Mustangs made it 21 wins in a row with a championship at the Frankenmuth Classic last week.
19. (25) Ankeny (Ankeny, Iowa), 2-0
The Hawks began season at Lincoln (Des Moines, Iowa) with a 25-14, 25-6, 25-17 win. Over the weekend, Ankeny competed at the Valley Invitational and defeated Waukee.
20. (16) St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.), 4-0
Spartans opened the season with four straight wins, defeating Central (Burlington, Ill.), Palatine (Ill.), Elk Grove (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), and Conant (Hoffman Estates, Ill.).
21. (NR) Chaparral (Parker, Colo.), 3-0
The Wolverines began the season ranked No. 2 in Colorado, but they have already knocked off the No. 1 team with a 3-2 victory over Ponderosa, the defending 5A state champion.
22. (NR) Leon (Tallahassee, Fla.), 5-0
The Lions finished second in the 5A state championships last year and are off to a 5-0 start after winning three games over the weekend at a tournament in Alabama.
23. (NR) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 18-3
The Leopards have put together a solid season with the only losses coming against Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), Plano West (Plano, Texas) and King (Corpus Christi, Texas). Lovejoy has avenged the loss to Marcus and also has a pair of wins over 4A power Pearce, 5A No. 2 Hebron (Carrollton, Texas) and a victory over 4A No. 1 Lake Travis for fifth place at the Pearland Tournament.
24. (17) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 27-2
The Cavaliers finished sixth at the Pearland Tournament on August 27. In its only game last week, Lake Travis topped Midway (Waco, Texas), 3-0.
25. (NR) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 3-0
The Huskies are ranked No. 1 in the Arizona 5A-I power rankings after wins over Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.), Mesquite (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Mountain Pointe (Phoenix, Ariz.).
