UCLA recruit Mackenzie May leads Wahlert past Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS — Mackenzie May was simply too good. Much too much.

May blasted 27 kills as second-ranked Dubuque Wahlert swept No. 6 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 25-20, 25-21, 25-15, in a Class 4A semifinal at the state volleyball tournament Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'We knew she was going to get hers,' Xavier Coach Austin Filer said. 'Their entire team played well, first with their serve, then she capitalized on a lot of points.'

Wahlert (27-6) goes for its 18th state championship — but its first since 2005 — when it faces No. 1 Pella at 12:15 Friday afternoon. The Dutch (38-4) rallied past Sioux City Heelan on Thursday.

'It's kind of surreal,' said May, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter bound for UCLA. 'We've worked so hard to get here.'

Conventional wisdom would say that the Golden Eagles are vulnerable when May is in the back row. But the Saints (32-10) struggled to make hay when the window seemed to be open for a surge.

In Game 2, for example, Wahlert held a 19-18 edge when May went back to serve. The Golden Eagles scored the next three points (one on a May ace), then eventually won the set on a back-row kill by their star.

As she went back to serve in the second set, she heard catcalls such as, 'You're the whole team,' or 'You're all they've got.'

May said, 'Obviously, that's false. There's no way one person can do everything.'

Her supporting cast is plenty good.

'They were the better team today,' said Xavier's Charlotte Richards, who led the Saints with 15 kills. 'They did a great job hitting and playing defense. We did our jobs, too, but they were the better team.'

May was guilty of only one hitting error in 49 swings and posted a .531 kill efficiency. As a team, Wahlert hit .425.

Xavier played Wahlert even through the first part of each set, but each time, the Golden Eagles got away.

Down 9-6 in the opener, Wahlert put together a 10-1 run for a 16-10 lead and wasn't threatened. The aforementioned late run boosted Wahlert in the second, then a 10-3 surge broke open the finale.

Still, it was a season of vast progress for Xavier, which was 16-22 last year.

'This was the start of something,' said Richards, a junior. 'We definitely plan on being back next year and getting further.'

Ellie McDermott added 10 kills for the Saints. Jess Callahan counted 22 assists.

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