Sergeant Bluff-Luton blocks Xavier’s state volleyball title hopes

CEDAR RAPIDS — They entered the season unranked.

They entered the state tournament with no wins in three prior appearances.

Look at the Warriors from Sergeant Bluff-Luton now.

Fourth-ranked SBL picked up a staggering 16 points on blocks and knocked off No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier in a five-set Class 4A semifinal (20-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 15-13) at the state volleyball tournament Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'The preseason ranking, we took it as motivation,' said SBL sophomore Elle Sneller, one of three 6-foot-plus starters for the Warriors. 'We've proven to the state that we're supposed to be here.'

No disputing that. The Warriors' three losses this season came to Western Christian (twice) and West Des Moines Valley. And they earned their triumph over a Xavier squad that had been ranked No. 1 all season.

'Credit to them,' said Xavier's Ellie McDermott. 'They have great athletes. Sometimes the other team is bigger and stronger, and that team was.'

Sergeant Bluff-Luton (42-3) will face No. 2 Dubuque Wahlert (21-9) for the title at 12:15 p.m. Friday. Wahlert is the defending champion.

Xavier (32-10) appeared to have everything under control midway through the fourth set. The Saints were up 2-1 in sets and 14-10 on the scoreboard. But the Warriors scored eight straight points and ended the set with a 15-2 run to force a winner-take-all fifth.

'We felt we were in pretty good shape,' Xavier's Charlotte Richards said. 'Our energy was really great. But they came at us with some stuff that we couldn't return.'

Game 5 was knotted at 9-9 before the Warriors scored three straight, including two kills by Kylee Christensen. Xavier got within 13-12 and 14-13, but couldn't get the equalizer.

Richards' 23 kills staked Xavier to a 58-44 advantage in that category, but the Saints were guilty of 30 attack errors, compared to 17 for SBL. And there were all those blocks.

'We think we're one of the best blocking teams in the state,' SBL's Madison Harms said. 'It really helps us out a lot.'

Sneller, Christensen and Harms collected 12 kills apiece and combined for 10.5 blocks.

'They made a few more fantastic plays than we did,' Xavier Coach Austin Filer said. 'That's a part of the game, unfortunately.

'But there were a lot of highs this season. This program has been taken to a new height by these seniors. Only one team ends with a win. We'll get past this and move on.'

Olivia Richards added 13 kills for Xavier.

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