Xavier doesn't panic, returns to state volleyball semifinals

CEDAR RAPIDS — They trust him. And he trusts them.

With Independence catching, then passing Cedar Rapids Xavier with a big run in the third set, Saints Coach Austin Filer kept his timeouts in his pocket. Play on, he said.

'All year, I've experimented with how long I can push things, and we have a lot of senior leadership on this team,' Filer said. 'They know when they need to regroup. I felt they had it under control.'

Top-ranked Xavier recovered from its only wobbly juncture of the match and swept No. 12 Independence, 25-18, 25-10, 25-23, in a Class 4A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'We all have full trust in Austin,' all-state senior Charlotte Richards said. 'He knows we can get ourselves out of it. He lets us work through our problems ourselves.'

Xavier (32-9) returns to the 4A semifinals for the second consecutive year. The Saints will face No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (41-3) at noon Thursday.

After knocking off two teams ranked higher than them in regional play, Independence retired at 33-9.

'They had (Richards) on the outside, and she's a great player,' Indee junior Madison Larson said. 'And they had more confidence than us. They're a more veteran, more experienced team, the kind of team we want to be next year.'

Xavier controlled the first two sets. They parlayed a 7-1 run into a 9-4 lead in the opener, then tallied the first eight points of Game 2.

It looked like more of the same in the finale. Xavier led, 10-3, before Independence fought back. The Mustangs held leads of 15-13 and 19-16, but the Saints answered.

Ellie McDermott collected three kills and a block as the Saints reclaimed the lead, then served an ace to conclude the match.

There was no panic. And that's a quality Jade Henderson has noticed since joining the program (she was at Cedar Rapids Kennedy last year).

'It's been really relaxed, really comfortable,' she said. 'Everybody's on the same page.'

Richards posted 14 kills as Xavier enjoyed a 37-18 advantage in that department. The Mustangs committed 21 hitting errors.

'We just didn't get into a rhythm,' Independence Coach Joe Schmitz said. 'Xavier won the serving battle, and they have some very strong outside hitters.'

Xavier served nine aces, compared to one for the Mustangs.

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