Xavier Volleyball

Saints raise volleyball mark to 15-0

WATERLOO - The Xavier High School volleyball team raised its record to a sparkling 15-0 Tuesday night by sweeping Waterloo East, 27-25, 25-10, 25-18, in a Mississippi Valley match in Waterloo.

Charlotte Richards led the Class 4A sixth-ranked Saints with 12 kills, 10 digs and two aces. Jess Callahan and Lexi Noonan collected seven kills. Emily Jasper, Akeela Jefferson and Olivia Richards had six kills in a balanced attack at the net.

Callahan also contributed 20 assists and 10 digs. Rachel Sodawasser provided 17 assists. Olivia Richards had two blocks and Noonan had two aces.

No. 6 Saints sweep Waterloo West

Charlotte Richards collected 12 kills Tuesday night as the Xavier Saints spanked Waterloo West, 25-13, 25-15, 25-10, in a Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball match at Xavier.

Ellie McDermott contributed eight aces and six kills for the Saints. Jessie Callahan had seven kills and Emily Jasper had three aces.

Xavier, which is ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, raised its perfect record to 9-0.

Saints spike 5A foes for title

The Xavier Saints won all six of their matches at the Cedar Rapids Washington volleyball tournament Saturday and captured top honors in a star-studded field.

The Saints, who will compete at the Class 4A level in the postseason tournament, whipped a pair of Class 5A powers in the playoffs Saturday at Washington.

Xavier topped Johnston, 26-24, 25-20, in the semifinals and defeated Linn-Mar, 25-23, 12-25, 15-13, in the finals,. Johnston is ranked No. 5 in Class 5A and Linn-Mar is ranked No. 10 in Class 5A.

Xavier is ranked No. 10 in Class 4A, but the Saints will surely climb higher in the next poll.

The Saints also beat Linn-Mar in a thriller in bracket play, 21-14, 14-21, 15-12, to win their pool. Xavier also topped Oskaloosa (18-21, 21-13, 15-7), Solon (21-17, 21-13) and Dubuque Senior (19-21, 21-19, 15-10).

The Saints have gotten off to an 8-0 start this season under new coach Austin Filer, with five of the victories against ranked Class 5A opponents.

Saints spike No. 14 J-Hawks, 3-0

The Xavier Saints have a talented volleyball team that appears very capable of reaching the state tournament in downtown Cedar Rapids this November.

That was obvious Tuesday night when the Saints whipped Jefferson, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21, in a Mississippi Valley Conference match at the Jefferson gym.

The Saints, who are ranked No. 12 in Class 4A, have gotten off to an impressive start this season, with two victories over ranked Class 5A opponents. First it was 15th-ranked Iowa City High last week, now it's 14th-ranked Jefferson this week.

Both matches were on the road, and it's a road that could lead to the U.S. Cellular Center for the state meet.

"One of our main goals is definitely to make it to state," junior Charlotte Richards remarked. "And not only make it to state, but try to make it to the championship.

"The team is really coming together this year," she said. "I think we're going to be really strong."

Xavier finished with a 15-22 record last season and showed promise, but it looks like the Saints are ready to make a big jump under new head coach Austin Filer, who previously was an assistant coach at Mount Mercy University.

Filer won seven championships during his professional volleyball career and the Saints say he's added a new ingredient to the team this season.

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