After playing seven matches in two days at the Nike Tournament of Champions over the weekend, Xavier Prep’s volleyball team did not have much time to rest up before its next match against visiting Phoenix Sunnyslope on Wednesday night (Oct. 6).
But the
Gators seemed to return with renewed energy, sweeping the Vikings 3-0 in a hard-fought
match at the Activity Center.
Scores were
25-19, 26-24 and 25-19.
Xavier
(18-7) was due to face Peoria Liberty on Thursday (Oct. 7) in the second match
in as many nights at the Activity Center.
Peoria is
No. 5 in the Arizona Interscholastic Association rankings, Xavier is No. 7 and
Sunnyslope is No. 11.
Senior
outside hitter Emma Soderstrom and junior outside hitter Ava Larkin were the
key factors for Xavier. Soderstrom (18) and Larkin (12) combined for 30 of the
team’s 40 kills. They also combined for 21 digs.
The Gators
were tough on defense, with 69 digs. Freshman libero Olivia Lenz had 21 digs
and senior libero Hannah Ulisch had 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Emma Caruso
led the team with 3 blocks. And senior setter Alexa Shiner had 35 of the team’s
40 assists.
In the first
game, Xavier had a 14-4 lead when Sunnyslope (19-11) called its second timeout
of the contest. The Vikings calmed down and went on a 7-0 run to get back into
it. Xavier, however, was able to maintain control after that to secure the win.
Neither team
could pull away in Game 2, exchanging leads. Sunnyslope appeared to have the
upper hand with a 23-21 lead, but Xavier got a kill from Soderstrom and a
service ace from Shiner to pull even.
Sunnyslope
inched back in front and had the victory at its fingertips. Xavier did not give
up, however, and came back with three straight points to decide the game.
The first
part of Game 3, then Xavier managed to separate a bit with a 20-13 lead.
Sunnyslope pulled closer at 22-19, and that was it as the Gators scored the
final three points in a row.
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