Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CORALVILLE – For the third consecutive match at the state tournament Clear Creek Amana saw the power of momentum.

In back-to-back five-set upsets of top-three opponents it was the Clippers that used a late-match momentum swing to its favor.

On Thursday in the Class 4A state title match at Xtream Arena in Coralville eighth-ranked Clear Creek Amana watched as momentum shifted to the opposite side of the net.

Top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier used a 7-1 run late in the third set of a tie match to seize control on its way to a 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 win over upset-minded Clear Creek Amana.

“Volleyball is a game of momentum and we lost the momentum and couldn’t quite get it back,” Clear Creek Amana junior Bliss Beck said. “It’s hard to break that when they go on a run. We were doing our best but when they get the momentum it’s tough.”

For the third time in three state tournament matches Clear Creek Amana (34-11) stood toe-to-toe with one of the giants of 4A volleyball.

After upsets of third-ranked Marion in the quarterfinals a second-ranked North Scott in the semifinals the Clippers couldn’t quite get over the hump against the top-ranked Saints.

Maci Kadlec had 22 kills to lead three Xavier players with at least 14 kills as the Saints claimed their second 4A title in three years.

“They started using our block a lot and making some shots that were really impressive,” Clear Creek Amana junior libero Meg Berkland said. “Their serving was really good and they just knew where to put the ball.”

Cedar Rapids Xavier (32-4) was impressive early taking the opening set 25-16, its seventh consecutive set victory at the state tournament.

Just as it did in wins over Marion and North Scott, Clear Creek Amana answered.

The Clippers jumped to a 10-4 lead and never trailed again, fending off a late Xavier rally to win the second set 25-22.

Clear Creek Amana rode that momentum to a 16-13 lead in the third set and appeared poised to take command of the match when the Saints answered.

“I thought we started to cower back from some moments instead of attacking them and we had a really tough time where we challenged them a little bit and they did a great job responding,” Cedar Rapids Xavier coach Austin Filer said. “It could have gone a different direction and CCA worked so hard that we definitely didn’t want to go to a fifth set with them.”

Xavier used a 7-1 run to take a 20-17 but Clear Creek Amana pushed back and pulled even at 23-23 on a Beck kill.

The Saints seized the momentum for good with back-to-back points to close the third set on a Libby Fandel kill and an Anna Shoger ace serve.

“As a coach you just are praying that you don’t go to the fifth set, they have been phenomenal in the fifth set with some massive leads but you go back to basics and have a lot of strength in your training and the kids to battle through and take care of business a little bit and the response they had was phenomenal,” Filer said. “We would have easily quit in that third set and they battled back and got the win and carried that momentum into the fourth.”

Xavier never let the momentum get away rolling to a 25-12 win in the fourth set.

Fandel finished with 21 kills and Anika Ivester had 14 kills for Xavier as the Saints hit .218 as a team.

“Their outsides are phenomenal,” Beck said. “They can place it so well and they used our block really well and that really helped them a lot. They are really skilled at doing that.”

The loss ended an amazing season for Clear Creek Amana that included an impressive state tournament run that saw the Clippers reach the state finals for the first time in program history.

Beck had a team-high 13 kills and five blocks while freshman Averie Lower added nine kills.

Berkland had 30 digs and finished the tournament with 105 matches while being selected to the 4A all-tournament team along with Beck.

“We are trying to keep a positive mindset because we got second in the state and that’s way better than we even thought we could,” Beck said. “We started out 0-3 on the season so being able to take a step back and see that we did accomplish a lot is something we really want to make sure we do.”

Clear Creek Amana is hoping the state tournament success is just the beginning.

Beck and Berkland are among a long list of expected returners for the Clippers next season along with juniors Sam Schrage, Kenadi Wood and Addison Gisleson along with freshman setter Emily Henderson and Lower.

“We only have one senior in the lineup and we are bringing everyone else back,” Berkland said. “Mainly our top hitters are back so hopefully we can build on this.”

CR Xavier                                25  22  25  25

Clear Creek Amana             16  25  23  12

Clear Creek Amana (Kills-aces-blocks)

Ashlyn Pitcher 2-0-2, Meg Berkland 1-1-0, Bliss Beck 13-0-5, Emily Henderson 1-0-0, Kenadi Wood 0-0-0, Silvana Kabolo 4-0-3, Sam Schrage 6-0-3, Addison Gisleson 6-0-0, Averie Lower 9-0-0, Totals 42-1-13.

Assists – Emily Henderson 17, Kenadi Wood 17, Meg Berkland 6, Sam Schrage 1

Cedar Rapids Xavier (Kills-aces-blocks)

Mac Kadlec 22-2-0, Brooklyn Miller 0-1-0, Carley Jonker 0-2-2, Anna Shoger 1-1-3, Libby Fandel 21-1-0, Anika Ivester 14-2-3, Ava Turner 5-0-1, Totals 63-9-7.

Assists – Anna Shoger 53, Brooklyn Miller 5, Carley Jonker 1, Ava Turner 1

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