Cedar Rapids Xavier plays like No. 1, wins Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS — Amy Weiland gathered her team and reminded them they are No. 1.

After dropping the first set to Cedar Falls, the second-year Cedar Rapids Xavier volleyball coach wanted to see if her bunch would push back.

They did. Hard.

“I think we came out that first set not really ready for it,” Weiland said after the Class 4A top-ranked Saints rallied past 5A No. 7 Cedar Falls, 24-26, 25-22, 15-7, to win the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament Tuesday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium. “When I told them, ‘Hey, we’re the No. 1 team in the state right now, let’s go play like it.’ I I think it kind of turned them around like, ‘OK, let’s stop being reactive and go take come balls down.’”

Xavier (26-4) won all three of its matches in the four-team championship pool, which included sweeps of 5A No. 10 Iowa City Liberty and 3A No. 4 Dubuque Wahlert. The MVC tournament crown is the first for the Saints since 2020. Four Xavier seniors – outside hitters Libby Fandel and Carley Jonker, middle hitter Taylor Rexroth and libero Carissa Timmerman – were on the 2022 team that won the 4A state title. But until Tuesday, supremacy within the MVC – and its preponderance of 5A schools – had eluded the quartet.

“What really won us in the year before (last), we really worked as a team and we had all the right pieces,” said Fandel, a Kansas women’s basketball commit who broke the school record for career kills Oct. 8 (1,278). “Every player can get a kill, every person can dig a ball. Just going after the ball really wins us points and championships.”

The 2024 Saints have been bolstered by the addition of a pair of junior newcomers. Six-foot-2 middle hitter Macie Lupkes transferred in from Central City and entered Tuesday with 160 kills, a team-high 59 blocks and is tops in 4A in kill efficiency (.370). Setter Josie Smith – who was on Xavier’s sophomore team a year ago – has piled up over 700 assists.

“The team has done a really good job by guiding me through this journey,” Smith said. “It’s obviously a lot different from last year … especially on this team. There is a lot of special talent. The communication piece is so, so strong on our team. They help me and tell me what to do in situations where I am uncomfortable.”

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Photos: MVC volleyball tournament

Xavier has a bit of a break between now and its 4A regional semifinal Oct. 24 at home against the winner of Independence and Waverly-Shell Rock.

“I think we saw a lot of things today that we can get better at,” Weiland said. “Especially digging balls. I think, overall, defense was OK but I think it can be better. And then top of that, just making sure we are hitting around those blocks and being a little bit smarter with our offense.”

Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball tournament

Championship pool play

At Ron Thillen Gymnasium

Teams – Cedar Rapids Xavier 3-0, Dubuque Wahlert 2-1, Cedar Falls 2-1, Iowa City Liberty 0-3.

Results

Xavier def. Liberty, 25-11, 25-9

Dubuque Wahlert def. Cedar Falls, 25-17, 25-23

Cedar Falls def. Liberty, 25-22, 25-13

Xavier def. Dubuque Wahlert, 25-18, 25-19

Dubuque Wahlert def. Liberty, 25-17, 25-21

Xavier def. Cedar Falls, 24-26, 25-22, 15-7