John Johnson’s St. Edmond volleyball team came out with a focused mindset here Monday night.

The end result was a sweep over Mason City Newman, as the Gaels advanced to the Class 1A, Region 2 quarterfinals.

Scores were 25-20, 25-14 and 25-12.

Ava Underberg recorded a match-high 10 kills to lead St. Edmond (8-24 overall). Senior Abby Lawler had seven, highlighted by the game-ending kill in the third set, with Ansley Oswald adding six.

“We had great energy from the start,” Johnson said. “That really continued throughout the match. The kids were prepared to go out and do what we asked of them.

“We stayed aggressive, had a great serve-and-receive night and took care of business.”

The Gaels jumped on the Knights (8-12) with a quick 7-1 lead in the first set, taking advantage of six serving errors. Underberg had three kills and St. Edmond committed just one serving error to help them overcome a pair of 5-0 runs by Mason City Newman.

In the second, the Gaels again took control early, leading 5-1 and 10-3. The Knights would make a run with a 6-2 rally before St. Edmond closed the door by winning 13 of the final 19 points.

“We just never let them get any momentum,” Johnson said. “I thought from watching film there were points we could take advantage of a few things. We forced them out of their comfort zone and when we had opportunities, we took them.

“Ava just continues to play incredible right now and Ansley is doing a wonderful job. When we get the ball to Claire (O’Connor), it is in a great position for her to make that final pass.”

With the third set and match well in hand, Johnson was able to insert freshmen Abby Huss and Sophia Schlienz. Huss served out the set as Lawler sent the crowd home with a kill.

“It’s just great to get those girls in because they have been working hard in practice,” Johnson said. “And what I thought was so cool was that Abby (Lawler) was more excited for Abby (Huss) and what she did than her own kill.

“(Lawler) is such an unselfish player and the type of kid you build a program around.”

Oswald and Sasha Hess each had three aces with Ava Andrew adding two. Andrew, Chloe Palmer and Faith Shirbroun all added a kill with Underberg recording two blocks and both Oswald and Lawler one.

For the Knights, Liz Kruckenberg had seven kills, Gracelyn VanLaere five and Audrey Jaspersen four.

St. Edmond will now get a third crack at Bishop Garrigan (8-21), as the Golden Bears advanced with a 26-24, 26-24, 25-23 victory over North Iowa. During the regular season, Garrigan picked up two wins over the Gaels at tournaments.

The winner between the Gaels and Golden Bears will face either eighth-ranked AGWSR (16-23) or Rockford (10-14) next Monday in the regional semifinals. The bottom part of the bracket sees Remsen St. Mary’s (19-8) play Le Mars Gehlen (13-13) and Newell-Fonda (18-8) host Siouxland Christian (12-15).