A pair of Top 5 teams exited the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings this week after dropping two games at the Archbishop Mitty Tournament in San Jose, Calif.
Palo Alto, which was ranked No. 4, lost twice to a pair of California teams including Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals and Dos Pueblos in the fifth place game. Meanwhile Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.) finished in eighth place with losses to host Mitty, Dos Pueblos and Santa Margarita.
Despite wins over Palo Alto and Cardinal Gibbons, Dos Pueblos also fell out of the rankings after a loss to St. Francis of Mountain View in the quarterfinals.
Moving into the rankings this week are a pair of Illinois teams, York (Elmhurst) and Benet Academy (Lisle), and the top team in Alabama, Huntsville. York is ranked No. 1 in Illinois while Benet Academy is No. 2. The two teams, which have previously been ranked in the Xcellent 25, each have a win over the other.
The only other new team this week is Marymount (Los Angeles), which had a third-place showing at the Durango Tournament. The Sailors replace Tupelo (Miss.), which saw its unbeaten season come to an end last week.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL RANKINGS
1. (Last week 1) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 9-0
The Titans won a pair of matches last week, defeating Millard West (Omaha) and Burke (Omaha) by 3-0 scores in district play. Against Burke,
Amber Rolfzen had nine kills and four aces while
Kadie Rolfzen had 15 kills and three aces. Burke was ranked second in Nebraska entering the match.
2. (2) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 31-0
The Cavaliers won their only match of the week with a 3-0 victory over Vandegrift.
Amy Neal had 16 kills and
Katy Beals had 24 assists and 13 digs in the win.
3. (3) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 5-0
The Buccaneers won three times last week including a 3-2 win over No. 14 East Lake (Tarpon Springs).
Jordan Burgess had 29 kills in the win while
Sidney Brown had 21 and
Mackenzie Dagostino added 15. Dagostino also finished with 63 assists.
4. (6) Avon (Ind.), 17-0
Avon won four times last week, including three times on Saturday. After a 3-1 victory over Brownsburg on Thursday, the Orioles got past Plainfield (2-0), Brownsburg (2-0) and Cascade (3-0) on Saturday.
5. (8) Chaparral (Parker, Colo.), 9-0
The Wolverines won twice last week, topping Grandview (Aurora) 3-1 and Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) 3-0.
6. (9) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 28-1
The Dragons continue to sit atop the Texas 5A state rankings as they picked up a pair of district wins last week over Northwest (Justin) and Guyer (Denton) by 3-0 scores.
7. (10) St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), 10-0
St. Ursula Academy is the top-ranked team in Ohio, based on the Ohio Volleyball Coaches Association poll. It topped Findlay 3-0, Butler 2-0 and Ursuline Academy 2-1 in last week's play to remain undefeated.
8. (11) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 16-0
St. James Academy participated in the St. Joseph's Academy Tournament of Champions over the weekend, defeating Bishop Miege for the second time this season for the title. The Thunder also topped Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.) and St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) en route to the title. The Thunder also won a pair of nonleague matchups against Ottawa and Blue Valley, winning both by 2-0 scores.
Paige Brown had 48 assists in the two matches combined.
9. (15) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 20-2
The Greyhounds captured first place at the Lovett Block Party with a 25-6, 25-18 victory over Sandy Creek. Pope lost to Sandy Creek in its first match of the tournament, but came back to win six in a row to claim the title.
10. (16) Chattahoochee (Alpharetta, Ga.), 23-4
The Cougars won four times last week, including a pair of region wins over Marist and Chamblee. They also topped Blessed Trinity and Northview. The Cougars are ranked No. 2 in the Georgia 4A coaches poll behind Pope.
Katie George, Assumption
Photo by Jann Hendry
The Rockets captured first place at the Durango Classic with a 2-0 victory over Los Alamitos in the finals. Assumption also topped La Costa Canyon and Redondo Union in bracket play to win the tournament for the first time since 2005.
Katie George was named the tournament MVP.
12. (18) Muncie Burris (Ind.), 19-1
The Owls won the Ben Davis Invitational over the weekend with wins over McCutcheon (2-0), Jennings County (2-0), Zionsville (2-1) and Martinsville (2-0).
13. (13) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 13-1
The Griffins advanced to the championship game of the Durango Classic before falling to Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) 2-0. Along the way, Los Alamitos topped Clovis West (Fresno) and Marymount (Los Angeles) in the Gold Division tournament bracket.
14. (14) East Lake (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), 6-1
The Eagles dropped their first match of the season in a 3-2 marathon affair against No. 3 Berkeley Prep. East Lake also defeated Lakewood (St. Petersburg) and Riverview (Sarasota) during the week.
15. (12) Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 14-2
The Stags won a pair of matches against Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley Southwest before heading to the St. Joseph Academy Tournament of Champions in Missouri where they went 4-1 with a loss to St. James Academy and wins over the host team and Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.).
16. (NR) Marymount (Los Angeles), 8-1
The Sailors went 6-1 at the Durango Classic with a 2-0 win over La Costa Canyon in the third-place game. Marymount's only loss came against runner-up Los Alamitos and it had a win over Xavier College Prep.
17. (7) Xavier College Prep (Phoenix), 20-2
The Gators suffered an instate loss to Horizon on Tuesday and then went 6-1 in the Durango Classic to finish fifth overall. The Gators fell to Marymount (Los Angeles) in the quarterfinals but edged Kamehameha (Honolulu) in the fifth-place match.
18. (19) Aiken (S.C.), 12-0
The Fighting Green Hornets continue to win, as they picked up region victories over White Knoll (3-1) and Orangeburg-Wilkinson (3-0) last week.
19. (24) Presentation (San Jose, Calif.), 17-1
The Panthers captured first place at the Archbishop Mitty Tournament with a 3-0 win over St. Francis. Presentation also topped Santa Barbara in the semifinals, a team that defeated previously unbeaten Palo Alto in the quarterfinals.
20. (21) College Park (The Woodlands, Texas), 23-4
The Cavaliers had just one match last week, topping Kingwood 3-0 in district play.
21. (22) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 27-4
The Wildcats won twice in district play, beating Cypress Springs and Langham Creek (Houston) by 3-0 scores.
Sarah Nielsen had 12 kills against Langham Creek and 10 against Cypress Springs.
22. (23) Boyd (McKinney, Texas), 24-4
The Broncos blanked Lakeview Centennial (Garland) 3-0 in the only game reported last week.
23. (NR) Huntsville (Ala.), 26-1
The top-ranked team in Alabama improved to 26-1 last week with a 3-0 win over Sparkman.
Lindsey Wintzinger had 17 assists in the win and
Jessica Lewis had 14 kills.
24. (NR) York (Elmhurst, Ill.), 15-2
York won the Mother McAuley Tournament over the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Lyons (LaGrange) in the championship game. York is ranked No. 1 in the state of Illinois by the Chicago Tribune.
25. (NR) Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 15-1
The Redwings are coming off a first-place finish at the Wheaton Tournament, where they topped Hinsdale South 25-16, 25-22 for the championship.
Jenna Jendryk was named the tournament MVP. Benet Academy is ranked No. 2 in the state behind York, which is the only team to defeat the Redwings.
Dropped Out
4. Palo Alto (Calif.)
5. Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.)
20. Dos Pueblos (Goleta, Calif.)
25. Tupelo (Miss.).
