Video: Preseason Top 25 volleyball rankings See which Nebraska teams land among the nation's best
Once again Omaha Marian takes the top spot as Nebraska's most dominant volleyball program over the past decade. The Crusaders, who claimed five of the seven state finals they competed in since 2009, outdistanced all of Class A and the rest of the field to take the top prize.
Papillion-LaVista South finished a distant second with 247 points, 99 behind Omaha Marian, after securing three state titles in five tries during that same time frame. Class B power Omaha Skutt Catholic was the first school below Class A to jump into this week's Top 10, grabbing the third spot with 236 out of a possible 450 points. The Skyhawks have won the last four Class B state titles.
Class C1 power Kearney Catholic and Grand Island Northwest round out the Top 5 this week in the four and five spots respectively, after winning five state titles between them. The Stars took second twice, while Northwest finished as Class B's runner-up four times.
Classes C2 and D1 did not land a program in the Top 10. But they were well represented. Hastings St. Cecilia, Class C2's highest ranked club at No. 19, finished with 87 points. Hartington Cedar Catholic, on the other hand, was the highest ranked Class D1 squad after finishing 18th with 87 points.
The Trojans, who will compete in D1 this fall, finish a place higher than St. Cecilia after they scored more state championship points, which take into account the points earned for winning a state title and finishing as runner-up.
MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which volleyball programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is an explanation on how the points are accumulated:
1. 20 points for a state title
2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up
3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it received 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking is good for one point.
Nebraska's dominant volleyball programs over the past decade
1. Marian (Omaha) — 346State titles: 5
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (1), 2010 (2), 2011 (4), 2012 (2), 2013 (3), 2014 (2), 2015 (1), 2016 (5), 2017 (1), 2018 (13).
2. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) — 247
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (2), 2010 (1), 2011 (1), 2012 (1), 2014 (14), 2015 (6), 2016 (9), 2017 (7).
3. Skutt Catholic (Omaha) — 236
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2010 (24), 2011 (12), 2013 (13), 2014 (6), 2015 (2), 2016 (1), 2017 (2), 2018 (2).
4. Kearney Catholic (Kearney) — 233
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (15), 2010 (16), 2011 (15), 2012 (3), 2013 (8), 2014 (3), 2015 (3), 2016 (12).
5. Northwest (Grand Island) — 190
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 4
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (14), 2010 (11), 2011 (14), 2012 (4), 2013 (1), 2015 (9), 2016 (7), 2017 (18).
6. Papillion-LaVista (Papillion) — 170
State titles: 0
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (10), 2010 (8), 2011 (23), 2012 (18), 2013 (6), 2014 (1), 2015 (8), 2016 (2), 2017 (4), 2018 (20).
7. Scotus (Columbus) — 160
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (3), 2010 (14), 2011 (3), 2012 (5), 2013 (17), 2014 (15), 2015 (15).
8. Pius X (Lincoln) — 160
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (12), 2010 (9), 2011 (2), 2012 (9), 2013 (4), 2016 (24), 2017 (14), 2018 (4).
9. Millard North (Omaha) — 151
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (25), 2010 (10), 2012 (20), 2013 (11), 2016 (6), 2017 (8), 2018 (1).
10. Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) — 142
State titles: 5
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2010 (13), 2012 (24), 2015 (12), 2017 (23).
