No. 1 Xavier gets in an early hole, rockets out of it, sweeps Western Dubuque in state volleyball semifinals

CORALVILLE — They’ve come to expect it.

Get down early? Don’t expect a bail-out pep talk or chew-out from the bench.

“(Coach) Austin (Filer) doesn’t think we need it,” Anika Ivester said. “We were down 12-5 to Marion at the (Cedar Rapids) Washington tournament. He didn’t call a timeout then, either, and we came back to win.

“We’re well enough off that we can pep-talk ourselves out of it.”

And so they are.

Top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier didn’t blink when Western Dubuque shot to a 7-1 lead. The Saints rallied, and rolled to a Class 4A semifinal sweep (25-20, 25-19, 25-22) at the state volleyball tournament Wednesday afternoon at Xtream Arena.

So, why the quick and decisive turnaround?

“It starts with a good, high pass,” Maci Kadlec said. “We have some amazing swings. We’re able to get on a four- or five-point run. We’re confident in ourselves.”

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The Saints will face No. 8 Clear Creek Amana (34-10) for the championship at 12:15 Thursday afternoon.

Upstart CCA has been the story of the 4A postseason, shocking No. 6 West Delaware, No. 3 Marion and No. 2 North Scott in succession.

Xavier won the championship in 2020. Ivester and Brooklyn Miller were sophomore starters on that team.

“This team is a little different,” Ivester said. “We really like to get excited.”

Last year’s champion, Western Dubuque still held a 13-11 advantage in the opening set. But Ivester went kill, block, block on three successive points, and Xavier led the rest of the set.

“With their hitters and blockers, it’s hard,” Western Dubuque libero Ella Meyer said. “We always think there’s a way around it, but we struggled with that today.

“Our biggest struggle this year was that when we’d get up, sometimes we wouldn’t finish games we were supposed to finish.”

Xavier’s only deficit in Game 2 was 1-0, its latest deficit in Game 3 was 5-4.

⧉ Related article: Photos: Cedar Rapids Xavier vs. Western Dubuque in Class 4A state volleyball semifinals

Fandel, a dynamic sophomore who is beginning to get Division-I basketball offers, led the Saints with 15 kills. Kadlec (13 kills) had one of her best matches of the season. Ivester posted 10 kills and 2 1/2 blocks.

Anna Shoger collected 36 assists and 12 digs.

Libby Lansing paced Western Dubuque with nine kills. Hailey Wulfekuhle and Franny Heiberger added eight apiece.

The Bobcats were making their fourth straight state-tournament appearance.

“We lost so many good players to graduation last year, so nobody knew what to expect from us,” Lansing said. “I said I wouldn’t be surprised if we made it back. It’s something to be super proud of.

“But (Xavier) got on a roll today, and when a team that good gets on a roll, it’s hard to stop them.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com