November 6, 2023

We are two weeks away from the final Top 50 National HS Rankings being released. With it the national champion will be named. The national title picture is rapidly taking shape. There was a huge result this past Saturday as top-ranked Mater Dei CA swept No. 2 Mira Costa CA in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final. That pushed Mater Dei’s mark to 2-1 against Mira Costa this season. Cathedral Catholic CA – which captured the CIF San Diego Section title with a five-set victory over Torrey Pines CA – is the only other school to beat Mater Dei, which also owns a victory over Cathedral Catholic. While there was no question of keeping Mater Dei at No. 1 following the Monarchs’ big victory, there was a question of where to place Mira Costa. We kept Mira Costa at No. 2 despite the loss based on strength of schedule. A big reason was because Mira Costa still has an opportunity to prove itself. The Mustangs open the California Open Division state playoffs this week against nationally-ranked Sierra Canyon. Up next could be a rematch with Cathedral Catholic, with the winner likely taking on Mater Dei in the semifinals. The California state playoffs are ultimately going to decide the final rankings and where Mater Dei, Mira Costa and Cathedral Catholic wind up in the final rankings. Also up in the air is the possibility that Hamilton Southeastern IN finishes at either No. 1 or No. 2 in the final rankings, ahead of its No. 3 ranking this week. Hamilton Southeastern wrapped up a 33-0 — and stretching its overall winning streak to 67 matches — season by claiming Indiana’s Class 4A state championship this past weekend. The question is whether or not that is enough to propel HSE to the top or not? While the roster is stacked with future Division 1 athletes, HSE’s strength of schedule is the biggest argument working against the program. The team didn’t face any out-of-state competition. A few schools HSE did beat did play teams from out-of-state, but none notched any victories of note. It leaves the hypothetical question of what would HSE’s record look like had it played in tournaments like Volleypalooza, Nike TOCs and the Durango Fall Classic? The bottom line is we won’t ever know the answer to that question and we are going to have to wait and see the final results of the season before making a final determination. Meanwhile, more states joined Indiana in bringing a close to their high school seasons. One of the biggest results was from Nebraska, where No. 9 Papillion-La Vista South fell in the state quarterfinals to Papillion-La Vista. Papillion-La Vista lost in the Class A state final to Lincoln Southwest, which vaulted into the national rankings as a result. Both finished ahead of Papillion-La Vista South, which was undefeated two weeks ago before falling to Papillion-La Vista in the last match of the regular season and then once more in state. Assumption regained its throne on top of the Kentucky state playoffs after knocking off Notre Dame Academy in the final. Notre Dame defeated Assumption in last year’s semifinals. Divine Savior Holy Angels repeated as Wisconsin’s Division 1 state champs after beating Oconomowoc for the fourth time this fall. Middle Creek earned its first-ever state title by beating Green Hope in the semifinals before topping Cox Mill for the North Carolina 4A state championship. Middle Creek’s only loss of the season came against Green Hope in August. Middle Creek avenged that loss in September and wound up taking the season series with the state semi victory. Dike-New Hartford capped a perfect 50-0 season after taking home the Iowa Class 2A state crown. Lafayette went back-to-back in Missouri’s Class 5A after sweeping Howell in the state final. Lone Peak finished off its season by downing Skyridge for the Utah 6A state championship. The schools entered the match 1-1 against each other. The Georgia state playoffs also came to an end over the weekend. Pace Academy left with the Class 4A state trophy while Alpharetta swept Pope for the 6A title. You can view 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 (3) 4. Prestonwood Christian TX (4) 5. Grand Oaks TX (5) 6. Cathedral Catholic CA (6) 7. Wayzata MN (7) 8. Assumption KY (10) 9. Benet Academy IL (12) 10. Mother McAuley IL (13) *** 11. Divine Savior Holy Angels WI (14) 12. O’Connor AZ (15) 13. Lincoln Southwest NE (n/r) 14. Middle Creek NC (21) 15. Archbishop Mitty CA (17) 16. Lake Catholic OH (20) 17. St. Francis/Mountain View CA (16) 18. Kings OH (22) 19. Papillion-La Vista NE (n/r) 20. Papillion-La Vista South NE (9) *** 21. Mill Valley KS (23) 22. Marist IL (11) 23. Sierra Canyon CA (24) 24. Notre Dame Academy KY (19) 25. Blue Valley North KS (25) 26. Dike-New Hartford IA (26) 27. Valor Christian CO (27) 28. Lake Travis TX (28) 29. Oconomowoc WI (18) 30. Hudsonville MI (29) *** 31. Seaman KS (31) 32. St. Thomas Aquinas KS (32) 33. Dripping Springs TX (33) 34. Lafayette MO (34) 35. Maize South KS (35) 36. Xavier Prep AZ (36) 37. St. James Academy KS (37) 38. Cornerstone Christian TX (38) 39. Foothill CA (n/r) 40. Carrollwood Day FL (39) *** 41. Branson CA (40) 42. Winter Park FL (41) 43. Lone Peak UT (44) 44. Berkeley Prep FL (n/r) 45. Pace Academy GA (45) 46. North Branch MI (47) 47. Alpharetta GA (48) 48. Skyridge UT (42) 49. Glenbard West IL (n/r) 50. Pope GA (49) ON THE CUSP Lake Highlands TXMcKinney Boyd TXSt. Ursula Academy OHSeton OHMercy McAuley OHLewis-Palmer COHuntington Beach CAMarymount CALos Alamitos CANorthville MIViera FLPlant FLVenice FLJupiter FLKamehameha HIPunahou HIBishop Gorman NVClear Creek-Amana IACorona del Sol AZLiberty AZSunrise Mountain AZMillennium AZBob Jones ALMountain Brook ALNorth Myrtle Beach SCDorman SCJenks