No. 3 Olivet Nazarene, No. 4 Judson Open Men's VB Tourney With Straight-Set Wins

CHICAGO --- No surprises in the first round of the 2024 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament as both No. 3 seed Olivet Nazarene University and No. 4 seed Judson University won their matches in the minimum three games.  Olivet Nazarene handled St. Ambrose 25-14, 27-25, 25-20 and Judson did the same against Trinity Christian 25-21, 25-20, 25-23.

That sets up Friday's semifinal-round matchups with top-seeded Saint Xavier serving as the host for both contests that day as well as the championship match on Saturday at 1 pm.  In Friday's 5 pm match, Olivet Nazarene (14-10) will go up against No. 2-seeded Calumet College of St. Joseph (19-8).  That will be followed by Saint Xavier (19-8) meeting Judson (18-11).

Recapping Tuesday:

Olivet Nazarene def. St. Ambrose 25-14, 27-25, 25-20
Brody McAfee and Cade Ooms led a strong offensive attack for the Tigers with Tomas Gonzalez running the show with his 47 assists.  McAfee recorded 18 kills and a .333 attack percentage, while Ooms converted 13 of his 21 attempts into kills with only two errors (.524 hitting clip).  James Ballance handled the defensive responsibilities with his 12 digs.

Judson def. Trinity Christian 25-21, 25-20, 25-23
A team effort carried the Eagles to the next round with Elijah Gregg and Mason Snodgrass posting nine kills each.  They were set up by Elijah Wrobel's 29 assists.  Jackson Otto's 10 digs led the defensive attack.  

The complete tournament results and remaining schedule follow:

Tuesday, April 16 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 4 Judson def. No. 5 Trinity Christian 25-21, 25-20, 25-23
• Match #2: No. 3 Olivet Nazarene def. No. 6 St. Ambrose 25-14, 27-25, 25-20

Friday, April 19 - Semifinal Round (at Saint Xavier)
• Match #3: No. 3 Olivet Nazarene (14-10) vs. No. 2 Calumet St. Joseph (19-8) --- 5 pm
• Match #4: No. 4 Judson (18-11) 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