There is little movement and no new teams to the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings as teams complete the final weeks of the regular season and begin postseason play.
One major tournament on the West Coast saw La Costa Canyon continue to assert itself as one of the best teams in the nation with a championship over tournament host Torrey Pines in the California Challenge. The Mavericks defeated Marymount (the team that handed Harvard-Westlake its only loss) and La Jolla Country Day (previously ranked No. 13 in the national rankings) before reaching the championship match.
St. James Academy, meanwhile, fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a loss to Bishop Miege. The Thunder won't fall far in the rankings, however, since they have three other wins over the Stags and have a number of wins over defending state champions, as well as another tournament championship win this weekend.
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 RANKINGS
1. (1) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 27-0
The Titans held off Lincoln Southwest in three games last week behind the play of sophomore twins
Kadie Rolfzen and
Amber Rolfzen. Kadie had seven kills in the decisive third game and finished the match with 17 while Amber had 11 for the match. The Titans finish the regular season this week with matches against Papillion-La Vista and Omaha Gross.
2. (2) Muncie Burris (Muncie, Ind.), 33-0
The Owls finished the regular season with two of their tougher matches of the year, dropping Muncie Central (Ind.) and Yorktown (Ind.) to stay unbeaten. Against 28-4 Yorktown,
Taylor Morey had 24 kills while Jamie Drummer had 10 kills and 3 digs. Yorktown made it close by becoming the first team all year to take Muncie Burris to five games. Morey led the Owls with 19 kills and 12 digs.
3. (4) Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati), 22-0
The Lions completed their second straight undefeated regular season with 3-0 wins over Mother of Mercy (Cincinnati) and Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio).
Kori Moster had 43 digs in the win over Mother of Mercy and 32 in the win over Lakota West. She leads the team with 449 digs on the season.
4. (5) Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.), 33-0
The Trojans won twice last week, defeating Jacobs (Algonquin, Ill.) 2-0 and McHenry (Ill.) 2-0. Cary-Grove plays its final two matches of the regular season this week against South (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and Dundee-Crown (Carpentersville, Ill.).
5. (6) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 50-1
The Greyhounds played just one match last week, winning their sectional playoff opener against Forest Park 25-10, 25-5, 25-12. Pope plays Greenbrier in the second round Tuesday.
6. (3) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 36-1
The Thunder were unable to get a fourth straight win over Bishop Miege, falling to the Stags 2-1 at home Thursday for their first loss of the season. St. James Academy had defeated Bishop Miege three other times, including two weeks ago.
Hanna Forst had 12 kills in the loss while
Morgan Voorhes had 10. The Thunder won six other matches during the week, including five on Saturday in tournament play.
7. (7) Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 15-1
The Wolverines continued Mission League play with 3-0 wins over Louisville (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Flintridge Sacred Heart (La Canada-Flintridge, Calif.). Harvard-Westlake concludes the first round of league play this week against Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.).
Karsta Lowe, La Costa Canyon
Photo by Jann Hendry
The Mavericks won the California Challenge at Torrey Pines with a 25-22, 25-17 win over Torrey Pines in the finals of the Gold Bracket.
Karsta Lowe had 14 kills in the finals while
Julianne Scheidler was the tournament MVP after racking up 17 digs.
9. (9) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 32-4
The Rockets defeated Waggener (Louisville, Ky.) and Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.) by 2-0 scores in 26th district play last week to conclude the regular season. Assumption begins 7th Region play Tuesday against Atherton (11-15).
10. (10) Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 19-0
The Rampants ran off three more victories by 3-0 scores last week, topping New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.), Hoggard (Wilmington, N.C.) and Laney (Wilmington, N.C.) in 4A Conference 1 play.
Julie Roeser had 19 assists in the first two wins and 21 against Laney.
Caroline Douglas posted 16 kills in the Hoggard win. The Rampants play their final regular season game Tuesday against New Bern (N.C.).
11. (11) King (Corpus Christi, Texas), 37-3
The Mustangs dropped East Central (San Antonio) in three games behind the play of
Dempsey Thornton, who had 15 kills and two blocks, and
Sarah Guzman, who added 11 kills. King also blanked South San Antonio (Texas) 3-0.
12. (12) Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 30-3
The Stags came from behind to defeat previously unbeaten St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) 11-25, 25-20, 25-23, in a double-dual meet last week that also featured a 25-22, 25-19 win over Topeka Hayden. The Stags also won the Blue Valley North Tournament with a win over Hayden in the championship match.
13. (14) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 29-5
The Jaguars won twice last week, defeating Portland Christian (Louisville, Ky.) 25-2, 25-1, in 21st District play and Presentation (Louisville, Ky.) 25-8, 25-8 for the district championship. Mercy began Region 6 play on Monday against Butler (Louisville, Ky.).
14. (15) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 22-2
The Buccaneers played only one match last week, defeating Tampa Prep (Fla.) by a 3-1 score.
Jordan Burgess had 23 kills in the win while
Amber Mirabello had 15.
15. (16) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 20-2
The Jackrabbits stayed unbeaten in Moore League play with 3-0 wins over Millikan (Long Beach, Calif.) and Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.).
16. (17) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 35-3
The Leopards won their 11th straight match without dropping a game, topping Princeton (Texas) and Farmersville (Texas) by 3-0 scores in District 11-3A competition.
17. (18) Pearce (Richardson, Texas), 35-3
The Mustangs easily got past Rockwall for their 38th straight district win.
Caroline Weir had 23 assists in the match while
Katie O'Brien had 18 kills and 15 digs. Pearce also knocked off Highland Park (Dallas) 3-0.
18. (19) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 39-2
The Cavaliers stayed undefeated in District 25-4A play with a 3-0 win over Vista Ridge (Cedar Park, Texas) and a 3-0 win over Cedar Park (Texas).
Amy Neal had 13 kills and 14 digs in the victory over Vista Ridge while
Katy Beals had 24 assists. Neal led the team with 16 kills against Cedar Park.
19 (20) Westlake (Austin, Texas), 37-2
The Chaparrals won two more last week, knocking off Akins (Austin, Texas) 3-0 and Austin (Texas) 3-0.
Lisa Ghidoni had 19 assists in the win over Akins.
20. (21) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 37-1
The wins keep coming for the Wildcats, who topped Jersey Village (Houston) 3-0 and Cypress Springs (Cypress, Texas) 3-0.
Daniela Arenas had 14 kills and
Victoria Arenas had 14 digs in the win over Jersey Village.
21 (22) Marist (Chicago), 27-2
The Red Hawks shut out Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, Ill.) and Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) and will conclude East Suburban Catholic League play Tuesday with a matchup against defending state champion Catholic Academy (Joliet, Ill.).
22. (13) La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 15-3
The Torreys lost twice at the California Challenge at Torrey Pines, falling to eventual champion La Costa Canyon and also losing to Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). The Torreys drop in the rankings, but don't exit just yet since Mira Costa also lost to Dos Pueblos in the California Challenge, a team La Jolla Country Day defeated at the Mitty Invitational.
23. (24) Presentation (San Jose, Calif.), 19-2
The Panthers defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), the defending NorCal Division III champion, by a 3-0 count last week. Presentation continues West Catholic Athletic League play this week with matches against Notre Dame (Belmont, Calif.) and defending Xcellent 25 National No. 1 Archbishop Mitty. The Panthers have defeated Mitty twice already this season.
24. (25) Apex (N.C.), 20-0
The Cougars defeated Green Hope (Cary, N.C.) in three games last week with
Kristen Harris posting 13 kills and
Kristi Marks adding 23 assists. Athens Drive (Raleigh, N.C.) also went down in defeat by a 3-0 score leaving Apex with a final home game against Middle Creek (Apex, N.C.) tonight.
25. (23) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 54-3-1
The Mustangs lost for just the third time this season, falling to Mercy (Farmington Hills, Mich.) 3-0 in a dual meet Thursday; however, Marian bounced back to defeat Mercy 2-0 at the Elite Sports Invitational over the weekend and defeated Fraser (Mich.) for the championship.
Alexandra Lovell had 14 kills in the championship match and 75 for the tournament.
Editor's Note: Bishop Miege's record was adjusted due to incorrect reporting of result of Hayden match.
