Two weeks into the Indiana high school volleyball season, the rankings are starting to become less about what we expected and more about what teams are actually showing us on the court.
Fort Wayne Carroll remains the team everyone is chasing. Westfield has done enough to hold onto the No. 2 spot. After that, however, there is movement.
Yorktown delivered one of the strongest weeks of any team in the state. Hamilton Southeastern continues to build an undefeated résumé. Center Grove is climbing. New Palestine and Bloomington South continue to win. Meanwhile, Roncalli experienced the type of Saturday that can quickly shake up an early-season ranking.
As more head-to-head matchups begin to take place, the margin between projection and production is getting smaller.
Here is the latest Indiana Preps Top 15, based on results through the Aug. 24-30 week.
1. Fort Wayne Carroll
Last Week: No. 1
Until somebody gives us a reason to move Carroll, the Chargers remain No. 1.
The defending Class 4A state champions have picked up right where they left off after an undefeated 2025 season. Carroll opened this season with wins over Westfield and Plainfield and continued stacking victories from there.
That opening-weekend résumé has also aged well. Both Westfield and Plainfield remain inside our Top 15, giving Carroll two significant early wins before most teams had even settled into their rotations.
The target isn’t going anywhere. Neither are the Chargers.
2. Westfield
Last Week: No. 2
There was a temptation to move Yorktown ahead of Westfield after what the Tigers accomplished this week, but head-to-head results have to matter.
Westfield owns a five-set victory over Yorktown, winning 3-2 on Aug. 19. The Shamrocks followed that performance with sweeps of Pendleton Heights, Harrison and Franklin Central.
That Yorktown victory becomes more impressive every time the Tigers beat another quality opponent.
Westfield stays at No. 2.
3. Yorktown
Last Week: No. 5
There may not be a hotter team in Indiana right now.
Yorktown’s only loss came in five sets against No. 2 Westfield, and the Tigers responded by putting together a statement weekend.
At their home invitational, Yorktown went 4-0 without dropping a set, beating Zionsville, Fort Wayne Concordia, Roncalli and Crown Point. The 2-0 victory over then-No. 4 Roncalli was the headliner, but getting through an entire tournament without surrendering a set says just as much.
Yorktown entered the season with the pieces to become one of Indiana’s best teams regardless of classification.
Two weeks in, they’re starting to look like it.
4. Hamilton Southeastern
Last Week: No. 7
Hamilton Southeastern makes one of the biggest jumps of the week.
The Royals continue to win and added more substance to their résumé with victories over Lawrence North and Brownsburg before a significant Saturday.
HSE survived Floyd Central in five sets before turning around and sweeping Providence, 3-0.
There is a legitimate argument that Hamilton Southeastern could be ranked even higher. But with Westfield owning the head-to-head victory over Yorktown and Yorktown putting together one of the state’s best recent stretches, No. 4 feels right for now.
If the Royals keep winning, that conversation won’t last long.
5. Penn
Last Week: No. 6
Penn continues its climb.
The Kingsmen have established themselves as one of northern Indiana’s best teams and have given us little reason to slow down their movement through the rankings.
Penn’s early résumé includes a sweep of La Porte and another 3-0 victory over South Bend Saint Joseph.
The question entering the season was whether Penn belonged among Indiana’s legitimate state contenders.
We’re getting closer to an answer.
6. Plainfield
Last Week: No. 3
Plainfield falls three spots, but this isn’t a case of suddenly believing less in the Quakers.
The talent is still there.
What has changed is the résumé around them. Yorktown, HSE and Penn have all done enough to move ahead, while Plainfield’s early losses to Carroll and Westfield keep the Quakers from holding onto a Top-5 position.
This was the Class 4A state runner-up a year ago with significant production returning.
Plainfield’s ceiling remains much higher than No. 6. Now the Quakers have to start building the wins that move them back up.
7. New Palestine
Last Week: No. 9
At some point, undefeated has to matter.
New Palestine continues to stack wins and has forced its way higher in the rankings because of it. The Dragons reached 9-0 during the week, including a sweep of Eastern Hancock.
The next step is résumé.
As the schedule gets stronger, New Palestine will have opportunities to prove whether this start belongs in the same conversation as the teams sitting above them.
For now, winning every match put in front of you is enough to earn a two-spot jump.
8. Bloomington South
Last Week: No. 10
Another undefeated team that we can’t ignore.
Bloomington South reached 8-0 during the week and continues to establish itself as one of the early surprises of the season.
The Panthers aren’t being pushed into the Top 5 based purely on record. Strength of schedule and quality wins still matter when comparing teams across the state.
But Bloomington South hasn’t lost.
Until somebody changes that, the Panthers deserve to keep climbing.
9. Center Grove
Last Week: No. 13
Few teams have improved their standing more than Center Grove.
The Trojans already had a notable 3-1 victory over defending back-to-back Class 1A state champion Trinity Lutheran, and they’ve continued winning since.
That’s enough to move Center Grove four positions this week.
The Trojans were already considered a Top-15 team entering the season. Their start isn’t introducing them to the rankings as much as it’s validating why they were there in the first place.
Now comes the opportunity to prove they belong even higher.
10. Southwood
Last Week: No. 8
Southwood drops two spots, but this is more about movement around the Knights than anything they’ve done wrong.
That’s an important distinction.
An all-classification ranking only works if smaller-school programs are evaluated on what they accomplish rather than automatically being pushed down whenever a larger school collects a quality win.
Southwood has continued winning and remains one of the state’s strongest smaller-class programs.
The Knights stay comfortably inside the Top 10.
11. Roncalli
Last Week: No. 4
No team takes a bigger fall this week.
Roncalli entered the weekend inside our Top 5 and had already collected quality wins, including victories over Franklin Central, Carmel and Columbus North.
Then came Saturday.
Yorktown swept the Royals before McCutcheon handed Roncalli another loss later in the Yorktown Invitational. Two losses in one day are difficult to overlook when teams around you are building their own résumés.
That doesn’t erase what Roncalli has already accomplished.
The two-time defending Class 3A state champion is now competing in Class 4A, where the weekly margin for error is going to be smaller.
Roncalli remains a dangerous team.
For this week, though, the results have to matter.
12. Floyd Central
Last Week: No. 14
Don’t let the losses tell the entire story with Floyd Central.
The Highlanders pushed No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern to five sets before falling and later went five with Fishers.
Those aren’t the results Floyd Central wanted, but competing deep into matches against quality opponents gives us information that an easy sweep sometimes doesn’t.
Floyd Central moves up two positions because the Highlanders have shown they can compete with some of Indiana’s better teams.
13. Carmel
Last Week: No. 11
Carmel slides two spots in a week where several teams around the Greyhounds strengthened their cases.
One of Carmel’s early losses came in five sets against Roncalli, and the Greyhounds have continued collecting wins, including a sweep of Ben Davis.
There’s no reason to overreact.
Carmel remains firmly inside the Top 15, but the next stretch of the schedule will determine whether the Greyhounds begin moving back toward the Top 10.
14. Providence
Last Week: Not Ranked
Providence enters the Top 15.
The record isn’t perfect, but context matters with the Pioneers.
Providence has consistently been willing to play strong competition and picked up a 3-0 victory over Fishers before running into undefeated Hamilton Southeastern.
HSE swept Providence, but losing to one of the best teams in the state isn’t enough to erase the body of work.
The schedule will continue providing opportunities for Providence to move.
15. Lawrence North
Last Week: Not Ranked
Lawrence North grabs the final position.
The Wildcats have already shown they can compete against quality opponents, and an early victory over Providence looks better with Providence now moving into the rankings as well.
There isn’t much separation between the teams fighting for these final few positions.
That’s what makes No. 15 one of the most volatile spots on the board.
For this week, Lawrence North gets the edge.
Indiana Preps Top 15 — Aug. 24-30
| Rank | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Wayne Carroll | 1 |
| 2 | Westfield | 2 |
| 3 | Yorktown | 5 |
| 4 | Hamilton Southeastern | 7 |
| 5 | Penn | 6 |
| 6 | Plainfield | 3 |
| 7 | New Palestine | 9 |
| 8 | Bloomington South | 10 |
| 9 | Center Grove | 13 |
| 10 | Southwood | 8 |
| 11 | Roncalli | 4 |
| 12 | Floyd Central | 14 |
| 13 | Carmel | 11 |
| 14 | Providence | NR |
| 15 | Lawrence North | NR |
Dropped out: Cathedral (No. 12), Harrison (No. 15)
What We Learned This Week
The biggest takeaway isn’t that Carroll remains No. 1. It’s that the group chasing the Chargers is starting to take shape.
Westfield has the head-to-head résumé. Yorktown has momentum. Hamilton Southeastern hasn’t lost. Penn keeps climbing.
Behind them, New Palestine and Bloomington South are forcing the rankings to respect undefeated starts, while Center Grove made one of the week’s biggest jumps.
And then there’s Roncalli.
The Royals’ seven-position drop shows how quickly these rankings can move once quality teams begin playing each other. That’s not necessarily a negative for Roncalli. It’s the reality of an early season where résumés are finally beginning to replace projections.
We’re only two weeks in.
The Top 15 is starting to tell us more about who these teams actually are — and there’s still plenty left to figure out.