Video: Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard: November 10The top two teams in MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard proved why they have such lofty rankings, as Indianapolis Cathedral (Ind.) and Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) finished their seasons with state championships and unbeaten records.
Cathedral, which features nine future Division 1 college players, blitzed 34-4 Carroll (Fort Wayne, Ind.), 3-0, for the state 4A title and finished with the program's first unbeaten season at 36-0.
Now the question is whether Cathedral and Jesuit can hang on to the top two spots while the rest of the Top 25 continues to chase.
Reigning Oregon 6A champion Jesuit beat Portland rival Central Catholic, 3-1, to finish 32-0 and ran its two-season win streak to 69. St. James held onto the No. 3 spot, though Gabriel Richard (Ann Arbor, Mich.) remains unbeaten and continues to inch upwards in the poll.
Torrey Pines, Carroll, P. K. Yonge, Winter Springs and Morgan remained in spots five through nine in this week's poll. New to the Top 10 this week is Desert Vista, which has won 19 straight.
New to the Top 25 this week are previously ranked Santiago (Corona, Calif.), unbeaten Eaton (Colo.) and George Washington (Charleston, W.Va.).
See volleyball playoff brackets from around the nationMaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Caiden Rexius and Eaton (Colo.) have moved into the Xcellent 25 behind an undefeated record.
Photo by Tim Visser
1. (No. 1 last week) Cathedral (Indianapolis), 36-0 *Season overThe Fighting Irish steamrolled Carroll (Fort Wayne) to win the 4A state title, 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-21).
Nia Parker-Robinson had 15 kills and
Maria Schorr had 38 assists in the title match.
2. (2) Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 32-0 *Season overLed by setter
Nicole Peterson's 40 assists, Jesuit captured its second-straight 6A title and ran its two-year win streak to 69. The Crusaders finished the year with 83 set victories against three losses.
3. (3) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 46-1, *Season overThe Thunder won the 5A state title.
4. (4) Gabriel Richard (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 37-0Gabriel Richard meets Divine Child (Dearborn) on Tuesday night in a state 3A regional semifinal match.
5. (5) Torrey Pines (San Diego), 31-1The Falcons extended their win streak to 24 by beating Canyon Crest, 3-1. The Falcons' lone loss this season is to No. 20-ranked Assumption (Louisville, Ky.). TPHS opens postseason play versus 19-9 Parker (San Diego) Friday.
6. (6) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 43-3Carroll closed conference play with a 24-match winning streak, then beat No. 25 Dripping Springs, 3-1. Boyd (McKinney) is Carroll's first playoff foe on Tuesday.
7. (7) P.K. Yonge (Gainesville, Fla.), 30-1Yonge will meet Palmer Trinity on Friday for the state 3A championship.
8. (8) Winter Springs (Fla.), 29-2Winter Springs will play Jupiter on Friday for the state 8A title.
9. (9) Morgan (Utah), 32-0 *Season overThe Trojans won Utah's 3A title.
10. (14) Desert Vista (Phoenix), 41-3The Thunder have won 19 in a row and meet 34-7 Xavier College Prep (Phoenix) on Tuesday for Arizona's large school state title.
11. (15) Novi (Mich.), 50-2The Wildcats meet 29-12-2 Walled Lake Central in Region 5 play on Tuesday.
12. (18) Jonathan Alder (Plain City, Ohio), 27-0Alder defeated West Holmes (Millersburg) to win the regional title.
13. (13) Edmond North (Okla.), 32-1 *Season overThe Huskies won the state 6A title.
14. (16) Mattawan (Mich.), 49-2The Wildcats got 29 digs from
Taylor Wiese and 38 assists from
Maria Pelak to beat Portage for the district title. Next up is Mason in Region 1 quarterfinal action.
15. (19) Fort Bend Austin (Sugar Land, Texas), 42-2The Bulldogs carry a 27-match win streak into Tuesday's regional quarterfinal against 41-5 Clear Creek (League City).
16. (21) Williamsville East (East Amherst, N.Y.), 35-1Winners of 30 straight, Williamsville East opened the postseason with a 3-0 win over Hamburg, and meets Sweet Home (Amherst) on Tuesday for the Section V1 A state qualifier.
17. (17) Buford (Ga.), 41-0 *Season overBuford won a state 4A championship.
18. (NR) Santiago (Corona, Calif.), 30-3The Sharks enter Tuesday's postseason opener riding an 18-match winning streak in which they have lost just two sets. The three losses have come against teams all ranked previously in the Xcellent 25 and who have a combined 95-12 record.
19. (20) Parkland (Allentown, Pa.), 32-2Parkland advanced in the playoffs after winning the District XI 4A title.
20. (24) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 34-7 *Season overLed by tournament MVP
Allie Gregory, the Rockets defeated Owensboro Catholic on Sunday for their fifth state championship in six years and 19th overall.
21. (22) St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.), 37-3St. Francis beat previous No. 10 Benet (Lisle), 2-1, to advance to Friday's 4A state semifinals against 19-6 Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.).
22. (23) Brentwood (Tenn.), 53-3 *Season overBrentwood won a state AAA championship.
23. (NR) George Washington (Charleston, W. Va.), 62-1-1The Patriots defeated Capitol (Charleston) to win the Region 3 title and move on to Friday's state 3A championships. They have won 131 of 140 sets this season.
24. (NR) Eaton (Colo.), 24-0The state's 3A No. 1 seed owns a victory over 4A No. 1 seed 23-1 Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) and has won 44 straight matches over two seasons. Eaton was the state 3A champion in 2013 and 2014.
25. (25) Dripping Springs (Texas), 46-3Dripping Springs opened the playoffs with a pair of 3-0 wins and plays 29-17 Georgetown in the 5A regional quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Dropped out: Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), Yorktown (Ind.).