Balanced Cougars sweep Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Jordan Calef knows the way to Clarence.

"That's good," joked her coach, Michelle Goodall. "She can drive Wednesday."

Seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy exhibited superior balance and swept Cedar Rapids Xavier in a Class 4A regional volleyball semifinal Thursday night at Kennedy High School.

Scores were 25-12, 25-18 and 25-19.

"We were able to go pin to pin, using a lot of different sets," Calef said.

The Cougars (28-9) advanced to Wednesday's regional final opposite Bettendorf at North Cedar Middle School in Clarence. Bettendorf (15-14) outlasted North Scott in five games.

Calef was there a few nights ago to watch a friend from Alburnett play in a 2A regional match. Now she's going back to play the most important match of the season.

Wednesday's winner advances to the state tournament Nov. 9-12 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. Kennedy is seeking its fourth straight state berth.

An indication of Kennedy's balance Thursday: The Cougars had four attackers with six kills or more. Xavier (19-17) had one.

That was Kelly Biermann, who led all attackers with 13 kills.

Kennedy has balance, and Kennedy has one of the state's best players in Allie Hutcheson. The University of Northern Colorado recruit counted 11 kills and 24 assists.

"Allie does a great job distributing the ball," said Kennedy's Lexi Rogers. "Our defense was on, and we did a good job serving the ball.

"We've been working hard for this all season. I'm looking forward to Wednesday."

Rogers and Calef added seven kills apiece, Bre Boote recorded six. And Kennedy served 12 aces.

"We got caught in a couple rotations that the stops just weren't there," said Xavier Coach Barb Brunow. "Kennedy is just so consistent. They don't miss very often."

The Cougars assembled a 20-5 run in the first game after the Saints took a 7-5 lead. They held a slight edge through most of the second set before a five-point surge broke it open late.

Goodall took her only timeout early in Game 3, with her team down 10-7.

"Our serve receive got a little lax," Goodall said. "We wanted to keep them confident and turn the momentum back around."

They did. Calef served two aces in a six-point run that gave Kennedy a 17-13 advantage, and the Cougars didn't look back.

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