Trophy Club Byron Nelson remained No. 1 in the Class 6A area rankings, improving to 25-1 and extending its winning streak to 21 matches with a 25-17, 25-14, 25-22 win over Hurst L.D. Bell on Tuesday.
Byron Nelson is ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps, has dropped only seven sets all season and has won its last eight matches in straight sets. It has seen Washington pledge Kylie Kleckner, Rice pledge Ashylyn Seay and sophomore Sophee Peterson step up with MaxPreps second-team All-American Sydnee Peterson out with a knee injury.
Kleckner, a junior, has 348 kills and is averaging 5.1 kills per set for a team that is 7-0 in District 4-6A and leads area No. 2-ranked Keller by one match. She had 13 kills and six aces in Tuesday’s win, while Seay added 13 kills and Sophee Peterson had 37 assists.
Seay, a first-team preseason All-American, has 268 kills (3.9 per set) on the season. Sophee Peterson, a MaxPreps freshman All-American last year, leads Byron Nelson in assists (859) and blocks (48) and is third on the team in kills (126).
No. 2 Keller has won 15 of its last 17 matches, with the two losses coming against nationally ranked Plano Prestonwood Christian and Byron Nelson. Keller has a win over defending 6A state champion Conroe Grand Oaks, a match in which Cal pledge Anna Flores had 16 kills and 22 assists, and has also beaten state No. 10-ranked Southlake Carroll.
No. 3 Hebron improved to 4-0 in District 5-6A with a three-set sweep of Little Elm on Tuesday and is tied with Flower Mound and one match ahead of Coppell. Flower Mound plays Coppell and Hebron back-to-back, hosting Coppell on Oct. 1 and playing at Hebron on Oct. 4.
Taylor Johnson leads Hebron with 308 kills and Cadence McDonald has 232 kills. Kamryn Mullican has a team-high 609 assists, and Carola Moreno leads the defense with 264 digs.
Southlake Carroll fell two spots to No. 6 after Tuesday’s 7-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-22, 16-14 loss to Keller Central. That dropped Carroll to fifth place in District 4-6A, and at 5-3 it is three matches behind in the loss column to district leader Byron Nelson.
Plano West moved up to No. 4 as it improved to 7-0 in District 6-6A with wins over then-No. 5 Allen and Princeton. Maya Ogbogu had 17 kills and Kennedy Crayton added nine kills and 17 digs in the 26-24, 23-25, 25-13, 25-17 win over Allen, and Plano West has won eight in a row and 14 of its last 15 matches, including beating nationally ranked Lovejoy.
Allen dropped from sixth to seventh after back-to-back losses to Plano West and Prosper. Prosper has been playing without first-team all-district outside hitter/right-side hitter Jayla Jackson but joined the 6A rankings this week at No. 10 after winning eight of its last 10 matches.
Prestonwood, ranked No. 6 in the nation, continues to be No. 1 in the area 5A-others poll after going 5-1 and taking third place at the prestigious Durango Fall Classic in Nevada. Prestonwood has six wins over nationally ranked teams this season, and will now turn its attention to trying to win a third consecutive TAPPS 6A state title.
Defending 5A state champion Lovejoy remained at No. 2 in the area after extending its winning streak to seven as sophomore outside hitter Gentry Barker has 285 kills and 301 digs and Princeton pledge Shelby Burriss has a team-high 75 blocks.
Colleyville Heritage, the 5A state champion in 2022, has won 12 in a row and stays at No. 3 in the area. BYU pledge Suli Davis has been one of the best players in the nation with 526 kills and 360 digs, and she had 26 kills and 20 digs in Tuesday’s 18-28, 26-24, 25-27, 25-18, 15-9 win over Argyle, the No. 6 team in the area.
Frisco Wakeland and Highland Park switched spots, with Wakeland moving up to No. 4 after Tuesday’s 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-18 win over Highland Park. LSU pledge Hannah Lee had 16 kills for Wakeland, Sam Houston State pledge Bella Wood added 12 kills, Jaleah Bauss had seven of Wakeland’s 13 aces, Aubree Fernandez contributed 26 digs and Bauss and West Virginia pledge Sarah Pfiffner combined for 38 assists.
Wakeland has won 10 in a row, and at 4-0 in District 12-5A it has a one-match lead over Highland Park and Frisco Lone Star.
Volleyball area rankings
Class 6A
Rk. Team, Record, Prv.
1. Trophy Club Byron Nelson, 25-1 (last week No. 1)
2. Keller, 19-3 (LW 2)
3. Hebron, 23-6 (LW 3)
4. Plano West, 17-6 (LW 5)
5. Rockwall, 20-13 (LW 7)
6. Southlake Carroll, 19-8 (LW 4)
7. Allen, 20-10 (LW 6)
8. Plano East, 23-7 (LW 8)
9. Wylie, 24-6 (LW 9)
10. Prosper, 18-15 (LW NR)
Dropped out: No. 10 Mansfield Lake Ridge
Class 5A-others
Rk. Team, Record, Prv.
1. Plano Prestonwood Christian, 24-2 (last week No. 1)
2. Lovejoy, 23-7 (LW 2)
3. Colleyville Heritage, 24-5 (LW 3)
4. Frisco Wakeland, 20-5 (LW 5)
5. Highland Park, 19-9 (LW 4)
6. Argyle, 25-5 (LW 6)
7. Ursuline, 21-10 (LW 7)
8. Melissa, 27-5 (LW 8)
9. Midlothian, 24-7 (LW 9)
10. Frisco Liberty, 18-7 (LW 10)
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