It's automatic every Tuesday during the high school volleyball season. Volleyball fans from all corners of the state login to their computers hoping the school they are loyal to moved up in the rankings, took over the top spot, or simply made the climb into the ratings.
But what about the national rankings? Oh what a coup that would be to find your alma mater alongside traditional powers Marymount (Los Angeles), Ponte Vedra or Berkeley (Tampa). Heck, landing a Top 100 ranking would be pretty cool, too.
Well, this week we did the work for you. Scouring through the MaxPreps national computer rankings, we unearthed the current MaxPreps ranking for each member of Nebraska's Top 10 volleyball teams.
Top-ranked Papillion-LaVista South represents the Cornhusker State - the Titans are No. 4 in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings and No. 19 in the computer rankings. Second-ranked Lincoln Southwest comes in at No. 147 out of the 14,134 volleyball programs included in our volleyball database and third-ranked Millard West dropped 13 spots to 191st nationally to round out Class A schools in this week's Top 5.
Class B powers Norris and Omaha Skutt Catholic sit fourth and fifth this week, respectively, after dropping into the No. 219 and 260 spots respectively. Teams from Classes A, B and C1 played their way into this week's Top 10. But that does not mean that schools from the Cornhusker State's smaller classes don't belong among the nation's elite programs.
Oakland-Craig, Class C2's top-ranked squad, sits 19th in Nebraska and 850th nationally this week while Howells-Dodge and Falls City Sacred Heart, the best Classes D1 and D2 have to offer respectively, are ranked 26th and 30th in Nebraska and Nos. 1,238 and 1,420 in the U.S.A respectively. All three programs are ranked in the nation's top 10-percent or better.
As you browse through this week's Top 10, listed on the top line is the school, its won-loss record in parenthesis, the school's won-loss record in sets played this fall and its MaxPreps power ranking. The third line updates who and when each Top 10 team plays next. Tuesday's rankings were used for this week's Top 10.
Where Nebraska's Top 10 volleyball teams ranked nationally
1. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) (35-0) | Set Won-Loss Record (82-4) | MaxPreps Rating (36.3)No. 1 Class A | No. 1 Nebraska | No. 19 Nationally
Next Match: Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena at the Class A State Volleyball Tournament.
2. Lincoln Southwest (Lincoln) (29-4) | Set Won-Loss Record (75-19) | MaxPreps Rating (30.2)No. 2 Class A | No. 2 Nebraska | No. 147 Nationally
Next Match: Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena at the Class A State Volleyball Tournament.
3. Millard West (Omaha) (25-6) | Set Won-Loss Record (64-19) | MaxPreps Rating (29.1)No. 3 Class A | No. 3 Nebraska | No. 191 Nationally
Next Match: Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena at the Class A State Volleyball Tournament.
4. Norris (Firth) (31-2) | Set Won-Loss Record (73-11) | MaxPreps Rating (28.4)No. 1 Class B | No. 4 Nebraska | No. 219 Nationally
Next Match: Saturday at home in the Class B-1 District Final against Blair.
5. Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (19-5) | Set Won-Loss Record (49-14) | MaxPreps Rating (27.6)No. 2 Class B | No. 5 Nebraska | No. 260 Nationally
Next Match: Saturday at home in the Class B-2 District Final Against Elkhorn.
6. Elkhorn South (Omaha) (26-7) | Set Won-Loss Record (67-19) | MaxPreps Rating (26.6)No. 4 Class A | No. 6 Nebraska | No. 314 Nationally
Next Match: Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena at the Class A State Volleyball Tournament.
7. Kearney Catholic (Kearney) (30-4) | Set Won-Loss Record (74-21) | MaxPreps Rating (25.2)No. 1 Class C1 | No. 7 Nebraska | No. 402 Nationally
Next Match: Saturday at home in the Class C1-1 District Final against Ord.
8. Gretna (24-8) | Set Won-Loss Record (59-29) | MaxPreps Rating (25.1)No. 5 Class A | No. 8 Nebraska | No. 411 Nationally
Next Match: Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena at the Class A State Volleyball Tournament.
9. Lincoln Lutheran (Lincoln) (34-2) | Set Won-Loss Record (76-6) | MaxPreps Rating (24.9)No. 2 Class C1 | No. 9 Nebraska | No. 419 Nationally
Next Match: Saturday at home in the Class C1-3 District Final against North Bend Central.
10. Grand Island Central Catholic (Grand Island) (29-1) | Set Won-Loss Record (70-11) | MaxPreps Rating (24.3)No. 3 Class C1 | No. 10 Nebraska | No. 467 Nationally
Next Match: Saturday at home in the Class C1-2 District Final against Omaha Roncalli Catholic.
