Editor’s note: Here is your chance to tell your story about your team, your school or your favorite player. If you’d like to join The Gazette’s growing list of high school contributors, contact J.R. Ogden at jr.ogden@thegazette.com

By Lizzy McWhinney, Xavier senior

CEDAR RAPIDS – The Xavier volleyball team has continued its strong run while nearing the end of regular season.

On Sept. 25, the Saints competed against the Warriors at Washington High School. They swept the Warriors,  25-18, 25-17, and 25-23. On Oct. 2, the Saints defeated Class 5A Waterloo West in their “Dig Pink Night” in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. They beat the Wahawks, 25-9, 25-23 and 25-15.

Senior captain Sarah Homan collected 27 assists and seven digs and with junior Kasey Vanden Bosch gathering 12 kills.

“We have great team chemistry which helps when it comes to competing because we are confident in each other and able to pick each other up when we make mistakes,” senior captain Shelby Christiansen said.

The Saints participated in the Westside Invitational at Jefferson High School on Oct. 6. They went 3-0 in pool play, beating West Liberty, Waterloo Wes, and Williamsburg. The Saints advanced to the semifinals and played against the ninth ranked team in Class 4A, West Delaware.

West Delaware ended the Saints winning streak that day, beating them 25-18 and 25-19.

“At this point, our main thing we are striving to improve on is consistently playing at our level through the end of the regular season,” Christiansen said.

On Oct. 9, the Saints took on the Hawks at Prairie High School.

“We have high hopes for the rest of the season and would like to make it past our game with Wahlert (Tuesday night) and ultimately qualify for state,” senior captain Audrey Richards said.

The Saints went 2-1 in pool play at the  MVC tournament at Kennedy on Saturday, then lost to Cedar Falls in the championship bracket quarterfinals. They host Wahlert tonight