October 23, 2023

While most of the top-ranked teams held it down last week, there was one major result of note. That was previously undefeated Papillion-La Vista South NE suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of Papillion-La Vista. It was definitely surprising considering PLVS was 5-0 against PLV on the season. But as we know, the more times teams play over the course of the season the more likely it is the other side finally breaks through. Given PLVS is still 5-1 against PLV, the Titans didn’t drop very far, falling from No. 3 to No. 9 in this week’s update. That was the last conference match of the year for PLVS as the Titans head into the postseason. As we said in last week’s update, it’s that time of season when the rankings can get really shook up if there are big upsets. That’s because had PLVS lost to PLV in the postseason and the Titans’ shot at winning state was over, we would rank PLV ahead of PLVS despite going 1-5 on the season. It might not be entirely fair, but teams spend all season building toward making a charge in the state playoffs and we honor the biggest stage of the year by sorting the rankings that way. We almost had that scenario play out with Hamilton Southeastern IN, which narrowly remained undefeated after downing Homestead IN in five sets in the state regional finals. The Royals had only lost two sets all season and advanced to the state semifinals by avoiding the upset loss. Hamilton Southeastern takes on La Porte IN this week, with the winner squaring off against the winner of Roncalli IN–Castle IN on Nov. 4 for the Class 4A state championship. Meanwhile, Wayzata MN wrapped up the regular season by going 28-0 and pushing its winning streak to 38-matches as the Trojans ready for another state championship push. You can check out the full Top 50 rankings below. vballrecruiter.com’S TOP 50 NATIONAL HS RANKINGS 1. Mater Dei CA (1 – previous ranking) 2. Mira Costa CA (2) 3. Hamilton Southeastern IN (4) 4. Prestonwood Christian TX (5) 5. Grand Oaks TX (6) 6. Cathedral Catholic CA (7) 7. Wayzata MN (8) 8. McKinney Boyd TX (9) 9. Papillion-La Vista South NE (3) 10. Assumption KY (10) *** 11. Marist IL (11) 12. Benet Academy IL (12) 13. Mother McAuley IL (13) 14. Divine Savior Holy Angels WI (14) 15. O’Connor AZ (15) 16. St. Francis/Mountain View CA (16) 17. Archbishop Mitty CA (18) 18. Oconomowoc WI (19) 19. Notre Dame Academy KY (21) 20. Lake Catholic OH (22) *** 21. Blue Valley North KS (22) 22. Middle Creek NC (27) 23. Sierra Canyon CA (17) 24. St. James Academy KS (25) 25. Kings OH (24) 26. Lake Travis TX (41) 27. St. Thomas Aquinas KS (28) 28. Dripping Springs TX (20) 29. Cornerstone Christian TX (26) 30. Carrollwood Day FL (29) *** 31. Lafayette MO (30) 32. Branson CA (31) 33. Dike-New Hartford IA (32) 34. Valor Christian CO (33) 35. Hudsonville MI (34) 36. Winter Park FL (35) 37. Lewis-Palmer CO (36) 38. Seton OH (37) 39. Xavier Prep AZ (38) 40. Skyridge UT (44) *** 41. Bellmont IN (n/r) 42. Lone Peak UT (39) 43. Pace Academy GA (n/r) 44. Mercy McAuley OH (43) 45. North Branch MI (47) 46. Alpharetta GA (48) 47. Pope GA (n/r) 48. Bingham UT (42) 49. Glenbard West IL (49) 50. Maize South KS (50) *** ON THE CUSP Huntington Beach CABishop Alemany CATorrey Pines CAMarymount CAPalos Verdes CARedondo Union CALos Alamitos CAFoothill CANorthville MIViera FLPlant FLBerkeley Prep FLVenice FLCalvary Christian FLJupiter FLKamehameha HIPunahou HIBishop Gorman NVClear Creek-Amana IACorona del Sol AZLiberty AZSunrise Mountain AZMillennium AZBob Jones ALMountain Brook ALSacred Heart KYNorth Myrtle Beach SCDorman SCSt. Ursula Academy OHMount Notre Dame OHCorner Canyon UTPleasant Grove UTJenks OKMount St. Mary OKLa Cueva NMRoncalli INAngola IN