The Texas state playoffs came to a close this week with several upsets in the Class 5A tournament that resulted in Hebron moving up into the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings, presented by the Army National Guard.
Ranked around fifth by the Texas Girls Coaches Association for most of the season, Hebron moved into the No. 50 spot last week after earning a place in the 5A state tournament. An upset win over Corpus Christi King, which had been ranked No. 1 for most of the season, and a victory over The Woodlands, which had pulled off several upsets of its own on the way to the championship match, moved Hebron up to No. 19 in this week's rankings.
Meanwhile Lake Travis and Lovejoy each won a state championship in their divisions. Lake Travis edged Pearce in the semifinals, avenging an earlier loss this season, and then topped Brenham in the finals. Lovejoy showed that it just might be the best team in Texas this year, despite playing at the Division III level, as it knocked off Wimberly for the title. Lovejoy defeated both Lake Travis and Hebron during the regular season.
The California state playoffs concluded section play last week and begin the regional playoffs this week. No huge upsets, although St. Francis did edge Presentation in the Central Coast Section and Marymount topped Redlands East Valley in the Southern Section 1A playoffs.
Following is a look at this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings, presented by the Army National Guard:
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS1. (1) Papillion-LaVista South (Neb.), 41-0
Nebraska Class A state champions. Season over.
2. (2) Muncie Burris (Ind.), 39-0
Indiana Class 2A state champions. Season over.
3. (3) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 54-1
Georgia Class 4A state champions. Season over.
4. (4) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 44-1
Kansas Class 4A state champions. Season over.
5. (5) Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.), 41-1
Illinois Class 4A state champions. Season over.
6. (6) Cary-Grove (Ill.), 41-1
Illinois Class 4A state runner-up. Season over.
7. (7) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 39-4
Kentucky state champion. Season over.
8. (9) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 34-2
The Mavericks won the San Diego Section Division I championship with a 25-21, 25-15, 25-17 win over Patrick Henry.
Karsta Lowe had 11 kills and
Karlee Fuller added 10 in the championship match.
9. (10) Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 38-4
Kansas 5A state champions. Season over.
10. (11) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 35-6
Kentucky state runner-up. Season over.
11. (12) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 30-2
The Buccaneers captured the Florida Class 3A state championship with a 25-18, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21 win over North Broward Preparatory. Berkeley Prep also downed Bishop Moore 3-2 in the semifinals.
12. (13) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 36-2
After downing Los Alamitos in the semifinals, Long Beach Poly topped Redondo Union 25-20, 16-25, 25-23, 25-22 for the Southern Section Division 1AA championship.
13. (15) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 46-3
The Leopards won the Texas 3A state championship with a 25-23, 21-25, 25-10, 25-18 win over Wimberly in the finals. Ebony Nwanebu had 15 kills in the final match while Andie Malloy had 14.
14. (16) La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 29-3
The Torreys won the San Diego Section Division IV championship with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-15 victory over Santa Fe Christian.
Mollie Rogers had 11 kills in the win and
Chloe Mathis added 25 assists.
15. (17) Apex (N.C.), 26-0
North Carolina 4A state champion. Season over.
16. (18) Lakeville North (Minn.), 30-1
Minnesota Class 3A state champions. Season over.
17. (19) St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), 28-1
Ohio Division I state champions. Season over.
18. (23) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 49-3
The Cavaliers dropped Pearce in the semifinals and easily got past Brenham 25-11, 25-18, 25-13 in the Texas Class 4A state championship match.
Amy Neal had 14 kills in the final match for Lake Travis.
19. (50) Hebron (Carrollton, Texas), 44-7
Defeated The Woodlands 3-0 to win the Texas 5A state championship.
Rachel Buckley had 15 kills and
Tiffany Baker had 18 in the championship match. Hebron knocked off Cypress Woods in the semifinals 3-0.
20. (20) Dublin Coffman (Ohio), 27-2
Ohio Division I state runner-up. Season over.
21. (21) Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati), 27-1
Lost in Ohio Division I semifinals to Dublin Coffman. Season over.
22. (25) Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 24-1
North Carolina 4A East Regional runner-up. Season over.
23. (27) Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.), 21-2
North Carolina 3A state champions. Season over.
24. (28) Marist (Chicago), 37-2
Lost to Lyons in the Illinois Class 4A Lansing Super Sectional. Season over.
25. (29) Edmond Memorial (Okla.), 32-3
Oklahoma Class 6A state champion. Season over.
The Next 2526. (30) St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis), 31-7-2
Missouri Division 4 state champion. Season over.
27. (22) Pearce (Richardson, Texas), 45-5
Lost to Lake Travis 27-25, 25-20, 12-25, 17-25, 7-15 in the semifinals of the Texas Class 4A state tournament.
Katie O'Brien had 17 kills in the loss while
Shelby Sullivan added 15.
28. (24) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 45-3
The Wildcats lost to Hebron 25-17, 25-14, 25-18 in the semifinals of the Texas Class 5A state tournament.
Sarah Nielsen had nine kills in the loss.
29. (NR) The Woodlands (Texas), 34-13
Defeated King (Corpus Christi, Texas) in the Texas 5A state semifinals 3-1, but then fell to Hebron 3-0 in the championship match.
30. (8) King (Corpus Christi, Texas), 45-4
Lost to The Woodlands 18-25, 23-25, 25-19, 21-25 in the semifinals of the Texas Class 5A state tournament.
Sarah Guzman had 20 kills in the loss and
Dempsey Thornton had 11.
Esther Longoria had 32 assists.
31. (31) Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.), 24-5
Fell to Berkeley Prep 26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 9-15 in the Florida 3A state semifinals.
32. (32) Huntsville (Ala.), 48-5
Alabama Class 6A state champion. Season over.
Veronica Komisarec, St. Francis
Photo by Ted Walker
Illinois Class 3A state champions. Season over.
34. (34) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 31-5
Captured the Central Coast Section Division II championship with a 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21 win over No. 1 seed Presentation.
35. (35) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 39-1
Indiana Class 4A state champion. Season over.
36. (38) Merion Mercy Academy (Merion Station, Pa.), 40-0
Defeated West Allegheny 3-0 to win the Pennsylvania 2A state championship and finish the year undefeated. Also topped Brandywine Heights 3-0 in the semifinals and won three pool play matches earlier in the week, defeating Windber 3-0, West Allegheny 3-0 and Meadville 3-0.
37. (26) Presentation (San Jose, Calif.), 32-5
Lost to St. Francis for the third time this season, falling to the Lancers 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21 in the Central Coast Section Division 2 championship match.
38. (39) Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.), 30-4
Oregon Class 6A state champions. Season over.
39. (40) Chaparral (Parker, Colo.), 32-1
Colorado Class 5A state champions. Season over.
40. (36) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 28-5
Lost to Long Beach Poly 18-25, 14-25, 14-25 in the semifinals of the Southern Section 1AA playoffs.
41. (37) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 28-8-1
Defeated Lakewood in semifinals but fell to Long Beach Poly 3-1 in Southern Section Division 1AA championship match.
42. (41) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 42-7
Georgia AAAAA state champion. Season over.
43. (42) Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.), 49-8
Tennessee Class AAA state champion. Season over.
44. (NR) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 69-6-1
Captured the Michigan Class A state championship with a 3-0 win over Mercy (Farmington Hills, Mich.).
45. (43) Lakewood (Calif.), 25-7
The Lancers were eliminated from the Southern Section 1AA tournament with a 13-25, 25-21, 18-25, 16-25 loss to Redondo Union in the semifinals.
46. (NR) Marymount (Los Angeles), 21-6
Marymount topped Redlands East Valley 25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 25-23 to capture the Southern Section 1A championship.
47. (14) Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 26-3
Defeated by Lakewood in Southern Section 1AA second round. Season over.
48. (45) Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), 30-3
Minnesota Class 3A state runner-up. Season over.
49. (46) Marian (Omaha, Neb.), 36-7
Nebraska Class A runner-up. Season over.
50. (NR) East Lake (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), 29-2
Defeated Martin County (Stuart, Fla.) for the Florida Class 5A state championship.
