What do you get when you pair a seasoned senior hitter and an above-her-years freshman setter? A second straight ASICS Challenge title for
Mother McAuley (Chicago) and an eight-spot jump in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school volleyball rankings.
Michigan commit
Ellie White had 14 kills and
Peyton Heatherly tossed up 22 assists in the No. 11 Mighty Macs' 25-20, 25-18 title-match victory over No. 12
Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.).
Mother McAuley not only beat Notre Dame Academy but handed in-state foe
Marist (Chicago) its second loss of the season and gave
Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee) its first defeat. That was enough to counter a Thursday non-league loss to No. 14 Assumption, which has played one of the toughest schedules in the country.
The other major national tournament to slide in before most teams start looking toward postseason was the Nike TOC Southwest, won by
Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.). The Lancers outlasted
Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas) in the title match as
Erin Curtis was named tournament MVP. Teammates
Hannah Maguire,
Whitney Wallace and
Taylor Williams all landed on all-tournament spots.
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Record: 32-2 |
Last week: 1
The Monarchs swept a pair of league matches as
Layli Ostovar had 13 kills against Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) while
Cymarah Gordon added 10 and
Julia Kakkis had 34 assists.
2. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Record: 25-2 |
Last week: 2
Audrey Flanagan paced the Mustangs with 14 kills in a five-set win over Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) as
Simone Roslon added 12 and
Chloe Hynes chipped in nine.
3. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
Record: 26-0 |
Last week: 3
Lindsey Mangelson had 16 kills in a tournament final win over Franklin County. The Royals ran their win streak to 60 matches as sectional play gets underway next week.
4. Grand Oaks (Spring, Texas)
Record: 36-1 |
Last week: 4
Samara Coleman and
Halle Thompson each pounded 11 kills in a sweep of College Park (The Woodlands) last week as seven matches remain in the regular season.
5. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Record: 23-3 |
Last week: 5
Jenna Hanes had 11 kills against Point Loma (San Diego) and junior
Mae Kordas had 10 kills against La Jolla as the Dons swept the week. They travel to Texas for a televised match against Prestonwood Christian on Friday.
6. Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
Record: 26-4 |
Last week: 7
Swept Parish Episcopal (Dallas) and Ursuline (Dallas) last week while this week's slate includes a match with Bishop Lynch and the ESPN match against Cathedral Catholic, which beat Prestonwood 2-0 at Durango.
7. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.)
Record: 25-0 |
Last week: 9
Did not play last week.
8. Boyd (McKinney, Texas)
Record: 23-1 |
Last week: 12
Ariah Augustine,
Ale Romo and
Keira Bose all tallied double-digit kills in a 3-1 win over Braswell (Little Elm) as
Sara Quigley posted 41 assists.
9. Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.)
Record: 29-3 |
Last week: 13
Grabbed the Forsyth Central Tournament title with a 2-0 win over North Forsyth (Cumming). In a Tuesday sweep over Sandy Creek (Tyrone),
Grace Agolli had 14 kills.
10. Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.)
Record: 23-3 |
Last week: NR
The Lancers are back in the rankings after their Nike TOC Southwest title and are led by hitters Williams and Curtis. The losses are to Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), No. 14 Assumption and Xavier College Prep (Phoenix).
11. Mother McAuley (Chicago)
Record: 21-4 |
Last week: 19
The Mighty Macs won their second straight ASICS Challenge title behind the hitting of White and setting of Heatherly. In the title match,
Samantha Falk had 29 digs.
12. Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.)
Record: 24-3 |
Last week: 10
Ava Tilden and
Gracie Portwood each passed 200 kills on the season. The Pandas evened the season series against Assumption with an Oct. 12 showdown to end the regular season looming.
13. Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee)
Record: 33-1 |
Last week: 13
DSHA bounced back from the loss to McAuley with a win over Assumption for third place at the ASICS Challenge.
Madison Quest had 13 kills and
Jordan Czajkowski had 25 assists in the win.
14. Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 25-5 |
Last week: 11
Four of the Rockets' five losses are to teams in the MaxPreps Top 25. Not many can boast the schedule of the 22-time Kentucky state champions.
15. Marist (Chicago)
Record: 22-2 |
Last week: 18
The RedHawks' two losses are to in-state opponents Benet Academy (Lisle) and Mother McAuley. Add in Oak Park-River Forest and the Illinois 4A bracket could be a gauntlet.
16. Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio)
Record: 34-5 |
Last week: 8
Bounced back from a pool play loss to 16-8 Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.) to reach the Nike TOC Southwest final against No. 10 Saint Francis.
Grace Carroll,
Megan Fitch and
Kaia Thiele all landed on the all-tourney team.
17. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 29-5 |
Last week: 6
The Trailblazers had some good wins at Nike TOC over some tough Arizona teams but dropped a 2-0 decision to 13-7 Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton).
18. Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.)
Record: 19-0 |
Last week: 15
Remained the top-ranked Minnesota squad with a 3-1 win over Champlin Park (Champlin) and a sweep of Eden Prairie last week.
19. Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
Record: 25-3 |
Last week: 16
Sisters
Sydnee Peterson, a senior, and
Sophee Peterson, a freshman, each tallied 10 kills in a sweep of V.R. Eaton (Fort Worth) on Friday. Sophee also notched 20 assists in the win.
20. Plano West (Plano, Texas)
Record: 21-4 |
Last week: 17
Kate Mansfield had 21 kills while
Blaire Bowers and
Reese Poerner each added 14 in a five-set win over Flower Mound.
21. Punahou (Honolulu)
Record: 25-1 |
Last week: 21
The Buff N' Blue swept Damien (Honolulu) and Mid-Pacific Institute (Honolulu) as
Lulu Uluave had 10 kills in the win over Damien.
22. Hudsonville (Mich.)
Record: 26-2 |
Last week: 22
Grabbed the Hudsonville Varsity Invite with wins over Unity Christian (Hudsonville), Portage, Forest Hills Northern (Grand Rapids) and Covenant Christian (Grand Rapids).
23. Alpharetta (Ga.)
Record: 32-2 |
Last week: 23
Capped the regular season with a 2-1 win over Cherokee (Canton) as
Logan Wiley had 13 kills and
Abigail Li added 35 assists.
24. Pope (Marietta, Ga.)
Record: 30-3 |
Last week: 24
Bounced back from a loss to Alpharetta with a tournament win, sweeping Norcross, Oconee County (Watkinsville), White County (Cleveland) and Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross).
25. Lake Catholic (Mentor, Ohio)
Record: 18-0 |
Last week: 25
Ava Budrys Rini and
Katie Sowko each logged 10 kills and
Hannah Pattie dished up 33 assists in a sweep of Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (Chardon) on Tuesday.
On the bubble: Seton (Cincinnati), 15-1;
Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 19-1;
Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), 36-1;
Xavier College Prep (Phoenix), 20-4;
Yorktown (Ind.), 21-5;
St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 25-3;
Blue Valley North (Overland Park, Kan.), 25-2;
Dike-New Hartford (Dike, Iowa), 28-0;
Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 19-2;
Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 15-0
