There were few changes this week in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings, as all of the top teams kept winning, aside from a head-to-head matchup between Kentucky powers Assumption and Mercy.
The Rockets edged the Jaguars for the second time this season, but Mercy did not drop in the rankings since Assumption was already ranked ahead of the Jaguars in the Xcellent 25 rankings.
Mercy also had to stay ahead of Berkeley Prep, which had a strong week with a first-place finish at the Tampa Bay Invitational. Mercy defeated the Buccaneers in the Berkeley Prep Premiere Tournament in September.
Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) dropped out of the rankings after a previously unreported loss to Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) at the State Preview Tournament was posted to the Crusaders' MaxPreps schedule this week.
Apex (N.C.) replaces Jesuit in the Xcellent 25 after starting the season 18-0 in North Carolina. The Cougars have dropped just three games all season.
Following is a look at this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings, presented by the Army National Guard:
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. (1) Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 23-0
The Titans made it 23 in a row and also picked up their third win of the season over defending state champion Marion (Omaha, Neb.) with a 3-1 victory last week. Defeated Bryan (Omaha, Neb.) 3-0 on Tuesday and knocked off Millard South (Omaha, Neb.) and Fremont (Neb.) 2-0 on Thursday. Papillion-LaVista South has dropped just two games on the season.
2. (2) Muncie Burris (Muncie, Ind.), 31-0
The Owls were overpowering in wins over Muncie Southside and Blue River Valley (Mt. Summit, Ind.) last week. Muncie Burris gave up just 20 points in a 3-0 win over Southside and was nearly flawless in one game against Blue River Valley, winning 25-10, 25-1, 25-11. Key games this week against Muncie Central and Yorktown.
3. (3) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 29-0
The Thunder hosted the Metro Sports Volleyball Slam last Tuesday and topped O'Hara (Kansas City, Mo.), 3-1. Later in the week during a triangular, St. James topped Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.) 2-0 and Lansing (Kan.) 2-0. Hanna Forst had 25 kills in the win over O'Hara and added another 20 in the two wins over Aquinas and Lansing.
Madison Cooper, Presentation (San Jose, Calif.)
Photo by David Stephenson
The Lions played two quality opponents last week and won both matches by 3-0 scores. In a win over St. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati),
Noelle Langenkamp had nine kills. In the victory over McAuley (Cincinnati),
Christina Beer notched 13 kills. St. Ursula was ranked No. 3 in the state.
5. (5) Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.), 31-0
The Trojans have won 47 matches in a row dating back to last season after winning the Schaumburg Invitational last week. Cary-Grove defeated Stevenson in the championship match.
Allison Whimpey had eight kills in the finals while
Colleen Smith added 20 assists.
6. (6) Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 49-1
The Greyhounds captured the 7-AAAA tournament with a pair of wins over Sprayberry on Saturday, winning the first match 2-0 and the final match 25-10, 25-12, 25-13. The area championship was the fifth in a row for the Greyhounds, who got 21 kills from
Mary Hannah Arrington and 20 kills from
Mary Hoey.
7. (7) Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 13-1
The Wolverines regained their momentum after suffering their only loss of the season, as they dropped Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 3-0, Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.) and Lakewood (Calif.), 3-1 last week.
Amanda Hall had 10 kills in the win over Notre Dame.
8. (8) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 14-1
The Mavericks began Avocado League play with a 3-0 win over Oceanside (Calif.) and a 3-1 win over Rancho Buena Vista (Vista, Calif.).
Karsta Lowe had 10 kills in the Oceanside win and
Lisa Kramer led the team against the Longhorns with 12 kills.
9. (9) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 30-4
The Rockets defeated Mercy (Louisville, Ky.) for the second time this season, capturing a 25-17, 23-25, 25-12, 25-15 triumph on the Jaguars' home court. Assumption also defeated Notre Dame (Louisville, Ky.) 3-0 and completes 26th district play this week.
10. (10) Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 16-0
The Rampants won six times last week, including a pair of 3-0 wins on Saturday against South Central (Winterville, N.C.) and Conley (Greenville, N.C.).
Caroline Douglas had 16 kills in the win over South Central and added 14 against Conley.
11. (11) King (Corpus Christi, Texas), 35-3
The Mustangs made it 20 wins in a row by topping Southwest (San Antonio), 3-1 and Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas) 3-1 last week.
Dempsey Thornton had 17 kills in the win over Carroll.
12. (12) Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 20-3
The Stags won three matches last week, blanking Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 3-0, Baldwin (Kan.) 2-0 and Seaman (Topeka, Kan.), 2-0.
13. (13) La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 10-1
The Torreys bounced back from their only loss of the season to defeat a pair of small school powers in Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 3-1 and Bishop's (La Jolla, Calif.) 3-0.
Mollie Rogers had 20 kills against Cathedral Catholic and 10 against Bishop's.
14. (14) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 27-5
After falling to Assumption on Oct. 5, the Jaguars bounced back to top Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), 3-2 and traveled to Ohio to knock off Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati) 3-0. Mount Notre Dame is ranked No. 6 in the Ohio Volleyball Coaches Poll.
15. (15) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 21-2
The Buccaneers won the Tampa Bay Invitational without dropping a game. Berkeley Prep defeated Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.) 2-0, Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) 2-0, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 2-0, Fort Myers (Fla.) 3-0 and DeLand (Fla.) 3-0.
Jordan Burgess came up big in the tournament, posing 23 kills in the semifinals against Fort Myers and 20 kills in the finals against DeLand.
16. (16) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 18-2
The Jackrabbits won a crucial Moore League match against Lakewood, taking a 3-1 victory from the Lancers. Long Beach Poly then thumped Laguna Beach 3-0.
Sa Iosia had 16 kills in the win over Lakewood while
Bria Russ added 13. Poly is ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section Division 1-AA poll.
17. (18) Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 33-3
The Leopards continue to romp through District 11-3A, defeating Lone Star (Frisco, Texas) 3-0 and Prosper (Texas) 3-0. Lovejoy finishes the first half of district play undefeated at 5-0 and begins the second half this week.
18. (19) Pearce (Richardson, Texas), 34-3
The Mustangs traveled to Wylie twice last week, defeating Wylie (Texas) 3-0 on Tuesday and edging Wylie East (Texas) on Friday.
19. (20) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 37-2
The Cavaliers whipped Marble Falls and Vandegrift by 3-0 scores to stay undefeated in district play at 8-0.
Amy Neal had 11 kills in the win over Vandegrift and 18 against Marble Falls.
20 (21) Westlake (Austin, Texas), 35-2
The Chaparrals blanked Del Valle (Texas) 3-0 and Anderson (Austin, Texas) 2-0 to remain ranked No. 2 in the Texas Girls Coaches Association 5A poll (behind King) and No. 2 in the Austin area volleyball rankings (behind Lake Travis).
21. (22) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 35-1
The Wildcats ran their district mark to 15-0 with a 3-1 win over Cypress Falls and a 3-0 victory over Cypress Ranch. Daniela Arenas had 15 kills against Cypress Falls.
22 (23) Marist (Chicago), 25-2
The Red Hawks rebounded from two straight losses last week to defeat Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.) 2-1 and Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 2-1 in conference play.
23. (24) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 41-2
The Mustangs won another tournament championship, defeating Novi (Mich.) 2-0 for the championship of the Waterford Mott Invitational. Marian defeated Ladywood (Livonia, Mich.) in conference play on Thursday and then won six in a row at the tournament for seven victories last week.
Alexandra Lovell had 19 kills against Novi.
24. (25) Presentation (San Jose, Calif.), 18-2
The Panthers won their only match last week, topping St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 3-1 in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Emily Sklar had 13 kills in the win.
25. (NR) Apex (N.C.), 18-0
The Cougars are one of three undefeated 4A teams in North Carolina (No. 10 Rose and Wakefield are the other two) and Apex has also won a pair of matches over defending 3A state champion Cardinal Gibbons.
