Iowa City Liberty sweeps its way to the MVC volleyball tournament title

NORTH LIBERTY — Go ahead. Shift your defense to Iowa City Liberty’s left side. Camp on Cassidy Hartman if you desire.

Lilah Van Scoyoc is capable of making you pay, or at least keeping you honest.

“She’s coming out as a go-to for us,” Liberty Coach Allie Kelly said. “She’s starting to earn and deserve the respect of everybody we play.”

A far-less-heralded senior compared to Hartman and Shelby Kimm, Van Scoyoc made big plays both early and late in a pivotal early match of the Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball tournament championship pool Tuesday night at Liberty High School.

Liberty, the top-ranked team in Class 5A, edged 4A No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 25-23, 25-23, in one of the matinee matches.

“I’m still shaking,” Van Scoyoc said between matches. “I do that when there’s a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement.”

Liberty (28-8) went on to sweep the night, defeating 5A No. 11 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (25-9, 25-22) and 4A No. 4 Western Dubuque (25-20, 25-11).

Kennedy (20-11) was a surprise runner-up, winning two of three matches, including its first conquest of Xavier (27-4) in quite some time — 20-25, 26-24, 15-11 in the finale.

“It’s just really exciting,” Kennedy senior Jacey Powell said. “Winning two matches today, that’s definitely what we were hoping for. We were able to get our block up, and we figured out what shots would work.”

The Saints were 1-2 Tuesday, Western Dubuque (22-10) — the 2021 Class 4A state champion — went 0-3.

Liberty swept Xavier in three competitive sets here a week ago in a match that determined the MVC Mississippi Division championship.

The Lightning had just a little more once again Tuesday.

“Xavier is a good team, a very good blocking team,” Kelly said. “I think we made some good adjustments, kept our composure. We’d get down two or three points, and we didn’t flinch.”

There certainly were opportunities.

Xavier held a 21-19 lead in the first set before Hartman took over. The Elite all-stater — and UNI commit — knocked down four kills as the Bolts closed with a deciding 6-2 run.

Asta Hildebrand’s block was the winner.

Liberty trailed 20-19 in Game 2. Kimm’s kill put the Lightning ahead for good at 22-21, then Van Scoyoc had a block out of the right side and teamed with Hildebrand for a block to get the Bolts to match point.

“This is the third time we’ve played (Xavier),” Van Scoyoc said. “They know we have strong outsides. If they put their blocks on Cassidy and Shelby, it opens things up for me. If they come over on me, it gives us a lot of options.”

Hartman said, “Lilah helps us a lot. We have a lot of weapons on this team. They’re going to help us take the next step.”

MVC Tournament, Championship Pool

Teams — 1. Iowa City Liberty 3-0, 2. C.R. Kennedy 2-1, 3. C.R. Xavier 1-2, 4. Western Dubuque 0-3.

Round 1

C.R. Kennedy def. Western Dubuque, 25-19, 24-26, 15-11

Iowa City Liberty def. C.R. Xavier, 25-23, 25-23

Round 2

C.R. Xavier def. Western Dubuque, 25-21, 26-24

Iowa City Liberty def. C.R. Kennedy, 25-9, 25-22

Round 3

C.R. Kennedy def. C.R. Xavier, 20-25, 26-24, 15-11

Iowa City Liberty def. Western Dubuque, 25-20, 25-11

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com