62 minutes of domination: No. 1 Xavier sweeps Sioux City Heelan

CORALVILLE — What the Cedar Rapids Xavier student section lacked in quantity, it made up for in accuracy.

At the end of the first set, the 50 or so kids that made the trip, started a chant:

“THAT was EA-sy.”

It only got easier.

Top-ranked Xavier served 12 aces, dominated the net and didn’t face a deficit all match in a 25-16, 25-13, 25-11 sweep of No. 14 Sioux City Heelan in a Class 4A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday afternoon at Xtream Arena.

Yeah, that was easy.

“I’d probably give (our performance) a 10 out of 10,” said 6-foot-4 senior Anika Ivester, a University of Nebraska-Omaha commit. “It wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot better than we had been playing.”

The Saints (31-4) advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal against No. 5 Western Dubuque (24-10), a five-set victor over No. 4 Indianola.

First serve Wednesday is noon. Western Dubuque is the reigning 4A champion.

According to Heelan’s Grace Nelson, the Saints are the heir apparent.

“That’s a state-championship team, and I’m rooting for them,” she said.

Xavier scored the first five points of the match, and was superior throughout, in all phases.

“It’s one of the best (matches) we’ve played,” junior Ava Turner said. “We kept telling ourselves not to overthink this.”

The Saints posted a .311 kill efficiency, accumulating 45 kills to the Crusaders’ 16.

Sophomore Libby Fandel, who is in the midst of receiving Division-I basketball offers, led the kill brigade with 16. Ivester hit .562 and added 11 kills, with Turner and Maci Kadlec counting six apiece

“We practiced a lot on our passing, and that really got our offense going,” Fandel said. “Heelan blocks so well, we had to cover that serve.”

If you’re looking for riveting play-by-play of this match, prepare for disappointment. There was no drama in this one.

Ivester served a couple aces and Anna Shoger added two more midway through the set as the Saints blew it open for good.

“We really tried to serve those seams,” Fandel said.

Xavier jumped to a 9-2 lead in Game 2, and an 11-point run — keyed by six points from Fandel and three from Turner — turned a 2-2 deadlock into a Game 3 rout.

Anna Shoger finished with 31 assists. Brooklyn Miller recorded 10 digs.

Heelan retired at 24-15.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com