The Xavier volleyball team showed why it's the No. 6-ranked team in the nation by MaxPreps, defeating a solid Casteel team in straight sets on Tuesday, Sept. 15, to improve to 5-0.
The Gators, playing without star outside hitter Tessa Larkin, used extended runs in each set to take control of the match and secure the win, 25-21, 25-11, and 25-14.
Sophomore outside hitter Sahmone Wadsworth led the Gators comeback from deficites in the first and third sets.
"We just did a good job trusting in each other," Wadsworth said. "Building the confidence and communicating. It's just the start of the season, so I'm excited to see what comes."
The Colts had a hard time to get any offense going Tuesday. Standout junior outside hitter Saydie Vega had nine kills,
but had a hard time finishing many other attempts. At one point the Colts squandered six straight kill opportunities on their left side of the court as several attempts fell out of bounds, awarding Xavier the points.
"In set three we rotated and we had an undersized blocker and their hitters are good and swing big," said Xaiver coach Lamar-Renee Bryant. "They saw an undersized blocker and they just kept over-rotating because they wanted to hit the ball down the line so bad and we took advantage of that."
Casteel is 12-4 overall, 5-2 in 5A play, having more tournament games so far this season.
Larkin, last year's Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, was in uniform but watched from the bench. She was among several players who sat out for the Gators. Larkin, a senior, is ranked the No. 1 player in the state by MaxPreps and the No. 5 recruit nationally in the 2027 class by PrepVolleyball.com. She has committed to Stanford.
Bryant declined to say why Larkin sat out.
"Our confidence was working for us," Bryant said. "Obviously down a player or two, or three or four, we came into this came with a plan and we stuck with it. We did a fantastic job of serving and taking them out of their first and second options."
Xavier (5-0), the two-time defending 6A champion, will face Archbishop Mittin (5-0) on Sept. 17 in Las Vegas, followed by the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas, where they will face Bishop Alemany (California, 10-0) Friday, Sept. 18.
Casteel (11-4) also will head to Las Vegas for the Durango Fall Classic, facing Rancho Cucamonga (8-6) Friday, Sept. 18.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Xavier improves to 5-0 against Casteel as star player sits out
