High school volleyball rankings: Marymount caps unbeaten season to finish No. 1 in final 2021 MaxPreps Top 25

Coming into the 2021 high school volleyball season, Marymount (Los Angeles) coach Cari Klein and her team had one goal in mind — a national title.

The Sailors finished off a 35-0 season Saturday with a surgical 25-11, 25-5, 25-14 dissection of Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) to win the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division title at Santiago Canyon College. The win cements Marymount's status as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school volleyball rankings and earns the Sailors the prize they sought in August — a MaxPreps National Championship.

"We wanted to make sure we had an undefeated season so no one else could say they were national champions," Klein said Monday. "It's not easy to be undefeated … but the girls were focused and dialed in."

The Sailors were led by Stanford-bound hitter Elia Rubin, who hammered a team-high 386 kills with 220 digs, 47 aces, 38 blocks and 372 serve receives.

"Her volleyball IQ is so high, she sees the game so well and loves the game," Klein said of Rubin. "She's a leader, she leads those girls on and off the court."

Klein, who had 22 players on the roster, said everyone played their role without question or complaint.

"Our bench had the best attitude," she said. "They had respect for the starters and it was a long season and we needed everyone."

Among the standouts were Duke commit Kerry Keefe, who powered down 162 kills with 50 blocks; Torrey Stafford, who finished with 311 kills and 204 digs; setter Stanford-commit Kelly Belardi, who posted 986 assists on the year; and libero Megan Verbiest, who had 324 digs, 369 serve receives and was all over the court in the finals sweep of Mitty.

"That last match showed Kerry and her dominance," Klein said of Keefe's nine-kill night. "And Megan just kept getting better throughout the year. She's got much better during the playoffs."

Klein, who also praised Dior Charles and Rhiann Sheffie, said perhaps the most underrated player on the team was Belardi, who was ever-the-competitor.

"I remember Kelly saying ‘I love this part of the tournament,'" Klein said during the post-match press conference on Saturday about an early season competition. "We were sitting around and I was thinking maybe she loves breakfast, but she goes ‘Everyone's so happy (walking in). They didn't know we were about to beat them.' She liked to see them walk in with high hopes."

And no matter the opponent, Marymount left all teams in its wake. The Sailors played a grueling tournament schedule with victories at the Durango Fall Classic, the Nike TOC Southwest and the made-for-TV GEICO Volleyball Invitational. Marymount dropped eight sets all season and never faced a five-set match.

Past MaxPreps National Champions
2009 — Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
2012 — Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.)
2013 — The Woodlands (Texas)
2014 — Lewis-Palmer (Monument, Colo.)
2015 — Cathedral (Indianapolis)
2016 — Mother McAuley (Chicago)
2017 — Walton (Marietta, Ga.)
2018 — Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)
2019 — Torrey Pines (San Diego)

1. (Last week 1) Marymount (Los Angeles), 35-0
CIF Open Division champions

2. (4) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 53-1
Division 1 state champions

3. (5) Brandeis (San Antonio), 47-2
Class 6A state champions

4. (2) St. Pius X Catholic (Atlanta), 52-1
AAAAA state champions

5. (3) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 40-0
Class A state champions

6. (6) Notre Dame Prep (Pontiac, Mich.), 64-1
Division 2 state champions

7. (8) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 42-6
Class 5A state champions

8. (9) Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), 34-0
Class 4A state champions

9. (12) McCutcheon (Lafayette, Ind.), 30-6
Class 4A state champions

10. (15) Victor (N.Y.), 49-1
AA state champions

11. (18) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 34-5
Class 6A state champions

12. (23) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 31-6
Class 5A state champions

13. (16) Montini Catholic (Lombard, Ill.), 40-1
Class 2A state champions

14. (17) Fayetteville (Fayetteville, Ark.), 32-4
Class 6A state champions

15. (NR) Plant (Tampa, Fla.), 26-5
Class 7A state champions

16. (14) North Raleigh Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.), 27-2
NCISSA 4A champions

17. (21) Lansing (Kan.), 40-1
5A state champions

18. (20) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 27-6
AAAAAAA state champions

19. (13) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 36-6
CIF Southern California Open Division regional semifinalist

20. (NR) Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.), 33-8
Class B state champions

21. (7) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif), 35-5
CIF Southern California Open Division regional finalist

22. (10) Hudsonville (Mich.), 52-3-1
Division 1 state semifinalist

23. (NR) Skyview (Nampa, Idaho), 36-2
Class 5A state champions

24. (NR) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (Burnt Hills, N.Y.), 29-3
Class A state champions.

25. (24) St. Mary's Dominican (New Orleans), 49-2