No. 1 Xavier rolls to sweep at Linn-Mar

MARION - You see 6-foot-4, you think front-row force. And eventually, Eve Magill will become that. Austin Filer calls her 'one of the next elite players,” after all.

She made an impact Tuesday. But she did so from the service stripe.

Magill served numerous scoring surges, Charlotte Richards collected 16 kills and Class 4A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier swept 5A No. 5 Linn-Mar (25-18, 25-21, 25-19) in an MVC Mississippi Division volleyball match at Linn-Mar High School.

'There were a couple times we let the ball fall, but we did a very good job on defense,” said Magill, a freshman whom Filer said has about 25 Division-I offers. 'Linn-Mar is one of our greatest rivals, and it's great to win against them.”

Xavier (23-4 overall, 4-1 division) didn't face a late scare in any of the three sets.

'We definitely worked on mixing up our sets,” Richards said, who had six kills in each of the first two sets, four in the finale. 'Everything worked out well for us tonight. We stayed on our toes and worked as a team.

'Our setters were able to put the ball where I wanted it, and I was able to put it away.”

Magill served just one ace, but only missed one serve in 21 tries.

'She has a high contact point, and that makes her so tough,” Filer said. 'Her ace-to-error ratio is the highest on our team.

'The game is still a little fast for her, but she's going to be a special player.”

Linn-Mar (21-6, 3-2) had a 17-16 advantage in the middle set, then Ellie McDermott pounded four kills in a seven-point run (Magill served it all) as the Saints took control.

The Lions stayed in their locker room for an extended amount of time postmatch, even after Coach Teresa Bair departed.

'We're taking tomorrow off,” Bair said. 'It's a gut-check time, and we need to pause and reflect on what we're doing.

'(Xavier) adjusted to what we did, and they executed. We failed to execute, and remain inconsistent.”

McDermott added eight kills. Richards served five aces to go with her kill count.

Ellie Von Lehmden paced Linn-Mar with 10 kills. Megan Renner distributed 24 assists.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 3, LINN-MAR 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19)

At Linn-Mar

Serving - Xavier 66-73 (.904), Linn-Mar 56-60 (.933)

Aces - Xavier 10 (Charlotte Richards 5), Linn-Mar 4 (Ellie Von Lehmden 2)

Kills - Xavier 33 (Richards 16), Linn-Mar 31 (Von Lehmden 10)

Assists - Xavier 31 (Jaz Yamilkoski 17), Linn-Mar 29 (Megan Renner 24)

Blocks - Xavier 1 (Elle Choate), Linn-Mar 9 (Renner, Carly Spies 3)

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com