HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: Xavier's Torson loses herself on volleyball court

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By Morgan Breitbach, Xavier junior

CEDAR RAPIDS - Some players start in a feeder program for volleyball as early as fourth grade, some even before that. Some start in seventh grade through their middle school team because they think it would be a fun activity to do with friends.

Xavier junior Kayla Torson falls into the latter category. It has certainly escalated from there, with accolades such as unanimous all-Mississippi Valley Conference, second-team all-state and Metro Player of the Year last year.

'I fell in love with the sport,' Torson said. 'I love how I can forget about everything when I'm on the court.'

Torson  leads the team in kills with 258 kills in 63 sets. Seventeen of those kills came in a crucial game against the Cedar Rapids Washington Warriors.

In the Mississippi Valley matchup earlier this month,  the Saints prevailed against the Warriors in five sets.  Junior Madsy Richards led the team with 18 kills, and senior Kasey Vanden Bosch added 17. Senior Britni Scholtes recorded 52 assists and 23 digs while senior Halle Heying led the team in digs with 28.

'We kept going back and forth, but we kept our energy up and finished,' Torson said.

The team continued its success in an away game against Waterloo West, winning in three sets, with  Vanden Bosch and Richards leading the Saints with 11 kills apiece while Torson added 10.

The Saints went 2-0 at Jefferson's Westside Invitational  in pool play, defeating Williamsburg and West Liberty to advance to the quarterfinals. They took on Dubuque Hempstead, ranked third in Class 5A, and lost in two matches 25-11 and 25-22. Xavier beat Marion, 25-21, 25-22, to finish  3-1 in the tournament.

Xavier (27-10) hosts DeWitt Central in a Class 4A regional semifinal on Thursday.