XCP News

#1 Xavier Volleyball Earns Return Trip to 6A State Championship Match

Chris Pfaff, Xavier Sportswriter
Photos taken by Sr. Lynn, Vice Principal of Activities and Athletics

Xavier Volleyball notched their third consecutive 3-0 State Tournament win at Thursday's semifinal match-up versus #4 Casteel. If you're thinking "3-0, a walk in the park", think again. 

The Colts had much stronger net play than the Gators' opponents from the first two rounds. Their strong hitting, dinking, and blocking prowess kept Xavier focused and on their toes. It turned out to be a hard-fought, gritty victory.

SET 1
Xavier jumping out to a 3-0 lead did not mean the Gators had a cake walk ahead of them. The score was tied at 11, and Xavier held a skimpy three-point lead late in the game, 18-15. But the Gators won the rest of the set 7 to 4 to garner a set-one victory, 25-19.

SET 2
Set two proved to be most entertaining and not for the faint of heart. Casteel led for almost the entire set. They had leads of 6-1, 14-10, 17-13, 20-17, and 24-23. But Xavier secured the set-two victory by scoring the final three points.
  • A hit by Sahmone Wadsworth touched a Casteel player on its way out of bounds: 24-24.
  • Selah O'Connor delivered a nice back-set to the right front for Amari Frazier, who decisively slammed the ball to the floor, untouched by a Colt:  Xavier 25-24.
  • Andrea Garcia sealed the set-two win for Xavier with a service ace: Xavier 26-24.

SET 3
The third set became a game of runs. Xavier had one run of 5 consecutive points and four runs of three. Casteel put together a run of five and a run of four. 

Xavier led by just one point very late in the game, 21-20, but Xavier scored three of the final four points to win 25-21.

VIDEO: Final Point and Celebration


Sophomore Amari Frazier was the MaxPreps player of the game. She had a team high 76% kill percentage, scoring 13 kills out of 17 attempts. Only Tessa Larkin (20) had more kills. In addition, Amari, along with Annabelle Ross, had a team-leading three blocks.


In the quarterfinal match-up with Liberty, I provided a special, slow-motion video featuring Selah O'Connor and her amazing running and leaping back set. This match's special, slow-motion video features another setter, senior Mattea Saunders, who had a very productive night statistically with her serving, serve receive, and digging. 

On the featured play, Mattea did the following:
  • She took several steps going away from her target chasing down the ball, and ended up on the right half of the court towards the back
  • With her back to her target, she executed a high-arching, blind back bump set, perfectly placed for the hitter, Tessa Larkin, who occupied the left-front portion of the court.

    VIDEO: Mattea Saunders' amazing, blind, high-arching back bump set


VIDEO: State Semifinal Xavier Highlights

 
#1 Xavier, the defending 2024 6A State Volleyball Champion, plays #2 Corona del Sol in the Championship Final Saturday night, 11/15, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum @ 7:00.

Go Gators!
Back

Main Menu

Quick Links

Location & Contact

Application Process

Interested in taking a tour of the campus or applying today?
Learn More
Xavier College Preparatory does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in admissions or in the administration of its educational policies or other school-administered programs.

© XCP 2024. All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy