IOWA CITY - New season, new coach, nice new victory.

The Xavier High School volleyball team clipped Iowa City High, 25-19, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, in the season opener Tuesday night to give Austin Filer his first victory as their new head coach.

The Saints are ranked No. 12 in Class 4A and the Little Hawks are ranked No. 15 in Class 5A, and the two ranked clubs staged a tight battle all night.

City High owned a 23-20 lead in the fourth set and needed just two points to tie the match, 2-2, but the Saints reeled off the last five points of the night to claim the victory on the road.

Charlotte Richards collected 20 kills for Xavier. Ellie McDermott finished with 14 digs, eight kills and three aces. Lexi Noonan and Jessie Callahan both had 11 digs and three aces.

Callahan contributed 27 assists. Rachel Sodawasser had 21 assists and three aces.