Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – Jessica Hauptmann hasn’t been surprised by the strong start to the season from her Liberty High team this season.

That doesn’t mean the Lightning haven’t found a way to impress their first-year head coach in the opening week.

“So far its been about what I expected but over the weekend we had some great wins over Cedar Falls and Dowling and that exceeded my expectations,” Hauptmann explained. “I knew they were capable of a lot of things so it also didn’t surprise me. I just know that we have a lot of potential. The ceiling is just open for them to grow this season.”

Liberty High opened the season with a 3-1 showing at the Ankeny Centennial tournament on Saturday posting wins over fifth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling and sixth-ranked Cedar Falls.

Class 5A No. 12 Liberty High continued its hot start on Tuesday with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 sweep of 4A No. 10 Cedar Rapids Xavier in a Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division contest at Liberty High.

“This team can be anything, honestly,” Hauptmann said. “We can go all the way up. I think we are growing each and every week and I think we are going to see that hopefully when we get to state, that’s our goal.”

Liberty High had five players with at least five kills led by senior Jessica Steburg with 13 in its three set win over the Saints on Tuesday.

Ava Meidlinger added 11 kills and Sydney Van Heukelom had seven kills as Liberty High improved to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Mississippi Division play.

“I feel like a lot of people maybe underestimate us as a team but I think we’ve really grown,” Meidlinger said. “We have a really great bond.”

The balanced offense for Liberty High caused problems all match for Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-4, 0-2).

Ellie Wilson had six kills and junior setter Hadley Miller added five kills for the Lightning as Liberty High finished with a 43-29 edge in kills.

“I think it’s really important to have a strong offense all the way across,” Meidlinger said. “Having multiple options is a big deal for our offense.”

Liberty High scored the final two points of the opening set to earn a 25-23 win.

Steburg snapped a 23-all tie with her fifth kill of the opening set and Liberty High secured the opening set win on a hitting error by the Saints.

“We have been together for a long time so it’s really fun to be with a team that bonds together and really works hard together,” Hadley Miller said. “This is a great team to be a part of.”

Liberty High used a 7-1 run midway through the second set to turn a 14-13 lead into a 21-14 advantage.

Van Heukelom had a kill to start the 7-1 run that featured an ace serve by junior libero Edie Miller and back-to-back kills from Steburg.

“We are moving as a unity and it’s really awesome,” Hauptmann said. “We’ve done a few new things with our offense, we are speeding up our offense and using that to our advantage. They are working hard and that’s everything a coach could ask for.”

Liberty High steadily pulled away in the third set to complete the sweep.

The Lightning used a 5-1 run to take a 15-9 advantage and took control with a 4-0 run fueled by three consecutive kills by Meidlinger that pushed the lead to 20-11.

“I thought our communication was really good,” Meidlinger said. “We ran a great offense tonight.”

Macie Lupkes led Cedar Rapids Xavier with nine kills while Kyanna Harbeck and Sage Teagle each had seven kills for the Saints.

CR Xavier                   23  19  19

Liberty High             25  25  25 

Liberty High (Kills-aces-blocks)

Edie Miller 1-1-0, Hadley Miller 5-2-1, Ellie Wilson 6-0-0, Ava Meidlinger 11-0-0, Sydney Van Heukelom 7-0-0, Jessica Steburg 13-3-0, Totals 43-6-2.

Assists – Hadley Miller 32, Edie Miller 1, Ellie Wilson 1

Cedar Rapids Xavier (Kills-aces-blocks)

Johnna Kuper 1-0-1, Anna Deutmeyer 1-0-1, Madden Wilson 0-1-0, Josie Smith 0-1-0, Caylin Miller 0-1-0, Macie Lupkes 9-1-1, Sage Teagle 7-1-0, Kyanna Harbeck 7-2-0, Maddie Ireland 4-0-0, Totals 29-7-3.

Assists – Maddie Ireland 14, Josie Smith 11, Caylin Miller 1

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