Saint Xavier Seeking A High Five In Men's Volleyball Tournament

CHICAGO --- After going undefeated in league play during the regular season, Saint Xavier University will be seeking its fifth consecutive Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament championship when the six-team, single-elimination tournament begins on Tuesday night.

The NAIA No. 7-ranked Cougars captured their fourth straight CCAC regular-season crown by going 10-0.  Overall, they are 19-8 and have won 13 matches in a row.

Of the ten conference matches, Saint Xavier has dropped just two games, going 30-2.  The team lost one game to Viterbo University in the league opener on Feb. 10 with the only other game loss coming to Olivet Nazarene University on March 19.

Joining SXU as one of the top two seeds and gaining a first-round bye is Calumet College of St. Joseph, which went 19-8 overall and 8-2 against CCAC competition.

Quarterfinal-round matches have No. 6 seed St. Ambrose University (8-25) going to No. 3 Olivet Nazarene (13-10), while Trinity Christian College (9-10) heads up north to face No. 4 Judson University (17-11).

The semifinal and final rounds will be held on Friday and Saturday at Saint Xavier.  The Cougars will square off against the winner of the Judson-Trinity Christian match at 7 pm on Friday.  In Friday's first match (5 pm), Calumet St. Joseph will meet the winner of the Olivet Nazarene-St. Ambrose contest.

Saint Xavier will face the winner of Tuesday's matchup between Trinity Christian (16-10) and No. 5 seed Calumet College of St. Joseph (7-7).

The championship match is set for 1 pm on Saturday.

The winner advances to the NAIA National Tournament April 30-May 4 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

For a tournament bracket, go to Bracket.

The complete tournament schedule follows:

Tuesday, April 16 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 5 Trinity Christian (9-10) at No. 4 Judson (17-11) --- 7 pm CT
• Match #2: No. 6 St. Ambrose (8-25) at No. 3 Olivet Nazarene (13-10) --- 7 pm CT

Friday, April 19 - Semifinal Round (at Saint Xavier)
• Match #3: Winner-Match #2 vs. No. 2 Calumet St. Joseph (19-8) --- 5 pm
• Match #4: Winner-Match #1 at No. 1 Saint Xavier (19-8) --- 7 pm

Saturday, April 20 – Championship (at Saint Xavier)
• Match #5: Winner-Match #3 vs. Winner-Match #4 --- 1 pm