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high school sportsVolleyball

Dallas-area high school volleyball rankings (9/28): Highland Park up to No. 2 in nation

Byron Nelson and Prestonwood are also ranked in the top 20 in America.

PrepVolleyball released its new national rankings Tuesday, and Highland Park is ranked No. 2 in the country behind California’s Cathedral Catholic.

The Dallas area has three teams in the top 20, including No. 5 Trophy Club Byron Nelson and No. 19 Plano Prestonwood Christian. Overall, Texas had four schools in the top 20 — the most of any state.

Highland Park’s only two losses are to Prestonwood. Prestonwood’s only loss is to San Antonio Cornerstone Christian, the nation’s third-ranked team.

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Highland Park (31-2, 6-0 District 7-6A), ranked No. 1 in the area in 6A, has dropped just 12 sets all season and hasn’t lost a set during its nine-match winning streak. Highland Park has 10 wins over teams that are currently in the area rankings.

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UCLA pledge Sydney Breon leads Highland Park with 315 kills and also has 291 digs, Michigan pledge Ceci Gooch has added 235 kills, Georgia Tech pledge Zoe Winford has 365 digs and Gracie Braner and Harper Hall have combined for 934 assists.

There wasn’t much change in this week’s area rankings, as only two ranked teams — Allen and Lovejoy— dropped a match. Allen lost twice, falling to Denton Guyer and Prosper.

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Not only did that boost Guyer into the area rankings, but it showed just how good this team can be now that Baylor pledge Kyndal Stowers is back in the lineup. Stowers, ranked as the 12th-best player in the nation in the Class of 2023 by PrepVolleyball, had been out all season after having shoulder surgery.

Stowers had 60 kills and 41 digs in her first three matches — all Guyer wins — and that included 26 kills and 11 digs in Tuesday’s 19-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 15-5 win over McKinney. In that match, Guyer (13-10 overall) got 33 assists from Drew Bridges and 10 kills from Madalyn Hokanson to improve to 5-1 in District 5-6A. Guyer is one match behind first-place Prosper (26-6, 6-0), and the teams will play at Prosper next Tuesday.

Plano West (22-2, 6-0 District 6-6A) extended its winning streak to 20 with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 win over Hebron on Tuesday. Arlington Martin’s winning streak reached 19 matches with Tuesday’s 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 win over Arlington as Natalia Newsome had 10 kills and Naala Kasunga added nine.

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Prosper’s winning streak reached 13 as Louisiana-Lafayette pledge Ella Chaney had 12 kills, Alabama pledge Callie Kieffer added 16 assists and Hannah Beauford finished with 12 assists, 11 digs, six kills and five blocks in a 25-19, 25-21, 25-16 win over Allen on Tuesday.

Northwest Eaton survived a scare Tuesday, beating Southlake Carroll 25-20, 14-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-6. Eaton improved to 6-0 in District 4-6A and has a two-match lead over nationally ranked Byron Nelson and 2021 Class 6A state runner-up Keller.

Prestonwood, ranked No. 1 in the area in the 5A-others poll, extended its winning streak to 16 matches Monday with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-15 win over Ursuline as Macaria Spears had 22 kills and TCU pledge Mikala Young added 10 kills. Prestonwood followed that with a three-set sweep of Parish Episcopal on Tuesday.

McKinney North joined the 5A-others rankings after Tuesday’s 25-22, 25-20, 14-25, 25-21 win over defending 5A state champion Lovejoy. The win gave McKinney North sole possession of first place in District 13-5A.

Class 6A

Rk. Team, Record, Previous

1. Highland Park, 31-2, 1

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2. Plano West, 22-2, 2

3. Prosper, 26-6, 3

4. Coppell, 28-9, 4

5. TC Byron Nelson, 30-3, 5

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6. Waxahachie, 28-10, 6

7. Denton Guyer, 13-10, NR

8. Arlington Martin, 21-7, 8

9. Sachse, 26-10, 9

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10. Northwest Eaton, 19-14, 10

Dropped out: No. 7 Allen

Class 5A-others

Rk. Team, Record, Previous

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1. Plano Prestonwood, 30-1, 1

2. Frisco Wakeland, 20-4, 2

3. Colleyville Heritage, 28-7, 3

4. Bishop Lynch, 24-7, 4

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5. McKinney North, 14-9, NR

6. Lovejoy, 18-13, 5

7. Midlothian, 29-3, 6

8. Frisco Lone Star, 17-8, 7

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8. Frisco Reedy, 15-11, 8

9. Celina, 26-1, 9

Dropped out: No. 10 Forney

On Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle

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