Allen’s Maya Ogbogu gets a dig against Highland Park during the 2nd set on Tuesday night, September 1, 2026 played at Highland Park High School in Dallas.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
Allen starts out at No. 1 in the initial Class 6A area rankings of the regular season, and with good reason. The team is ranked No. 5 in the nation by MaxPreps, and it owns wins over reigning state champions Trophy Club Byron Nelson and Southlake Carroll, along with nationally ranked Plano Prestonwood Christian, Hebron, Flower Mound and Mansfield.
Allen ended Byron Nelson’s 79-match winning streak with a 25-21, 25-19 win at the Grapevine Fieldhouse Volleyfest tournament. This is a Byron Nelson team that has won back-to-back state titles and finished No. 1 in the MaxPreps national rankings two years in a row, and it was Byron Nelson’s first loss since falling to Highland Park on Aug. 16, 2024.
That was a big day for Allen. After beating Byron Nelson, Allen held off 2025 6A Division II state champion Southlake Carroll 25-15, 24-26, 26-24.
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Allen is 11-1 without Texas A&M pledge Maya Ogbogu, the nation’s top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2028. The star outside hitter has missed part of the high school season while playing for a U.S. national team, but Allen beat powerhouses Flower Mound, Byron Nelson, Southlake Carroll and Hebron without her before going 12-1 since her return.
Byron Nelson was No. 1 in the preseason area rankings but drops to No. 2. It has a combined five wins over nationally ranked McKinney Boyd and Flower Mound and has also beaten 10-time state champion Lovejoy and 2023 and 2024 state champion Conroe Grand Oaks.
Two teams that weren’t in the preseason 6A rankings that have joined the top five are No. 3 Hebron and No. 4 McKinney Boyd. Boyd has gotten 200 kills from TCU pledge Trinity Johnson, 483 digs from sophomore Ashley Ruschill and a combined 666 assists from sophomores Gabby Fiori and Melanie Reding and has wins over Allen, Hebron, Keller and state No. 3-ranked Aledo.
Hebron lost its superstar, SMU pledge Taylor Johnson, who transferred to Prestonwood and is rated the 11th-best player in the country in the Class of 2028. But the team has still thrived without her and is ranked No. 7 in the nation as Kate McGough has a team-high 269 kills, Journie Evans and Marley Rogers have combined for 104 blocks, Zoe Miller has 317 digs and Kamryn Mullican leads the team with 676 assists.
Prestonwood was No. 1 in the preseason 5A-others area rankings and stays there, thanks to an 18-2 start. Prestonwood, ranked No. 8 nationally, has two wins over No. 9 San Antonio Cornerstone and has also beaten 6A state No. 2-ranked Austin Westlake, 6A state No. 8-ranked Wylie and 5A state-ranked Eagle Mountain and Liberty Hill.
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Volleyball area rankings
Class 6A
Rk School, Record, Preseason
2. Trophy Club Byron Nelson, 18-3, 1
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4. McKinney Boyd, 17-5, NR
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10. Rockwall-Heath, 23-5, NR
Dropped out: No. 4 Prosper Walnut Grove, No. 6 Southlake Carroll, No. 7 North Forney, No. 8 Northwest Eaton
Class 5A-others
Rk School, Record, Preseason
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1. Plano Prestonwood Christian, 18-2, 1
4. McKinney North, 10-6, 5
5. Highland Park, 8-10, 2
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6. Frisco Memorial, 20-5, NR
8. Frisco Wakeland, 12-11, NR
10. Colleyville Heritage, 13-5, NR
Dropped out: No. 7 Birdville, No. 8 Frisco Liberty, No. 10 Midlothian