Saint Xavier Makes It Five Men's Volleyball Tournament Championships In A Row

CHICAGO --- Top-seeded Saint Xavier University made it a high five by winning its fifth straight Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 victory over No. 2 seed Calumet College of St. Joseph on Saturday afternoon at Shannon Center.

The victory continued the Cougars' dominance throughout the season as they won 36 of the 38 sets against league competition this year.  It also makes SXU (21-8) one of only two programs to have secured a spot in the NAIA National Championships each of the five years that it has been held.  The other program is Grand View University (Iowa).

The first two sets on Saturday were nearly identical with things being tight early before Saint Xavier pulled away at the midpoint.  In Game 1, it was 11-10 when the Cougars scored six unanswered points to open up a 17-10 lead.  Cameron Daniels had a pair of aces during the run.

SXU then closed out the set with four of the final five points, including a pair of kills from Sean Carey.

Set 2 had Saint Xavier jump out to a 5-1 lead.  The Cougars held a 12-10 edge when they put up five consecutive points to take a 17-10 advantage.  Matt Pennala's two kills keyed the run.

Another two kills from Jan Lopuch were part of a closing 5-1 run to put SXU up two games to none.

The third set was the tightest of the three with eight ties and four lead changes.  Calumet St. Joseph (20-9) held advantages of 12-10 and 20-18 and led as late as 21-20 before Saint Xavier ran off five of the final six points courtesy of Lopuch's two kills and one ace to secure the sweep.

Lopuch and Pennala each supplied ten kills and .380 attack readings with former also recording nine digs.  Pennala added seven digs. 

Christian Oviedo provided 30 of the team's 36 assists, while Daniels collected three of the club's six aces.

Francis Hauze led Calumet St. Joseph with 10 kills.

The victory extends NAIA No. 7-ranked SXU's winning streak to 15 matches and sends it off to Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the NAIA National Tournament April 30-May 4.

The complete tournament results 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. 2 Calumet St. Joseph def. No. 3 Olivet Nazarene 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 15-13
• Match #4: No. 1 Saint Xavier def. No. 4 Judson 25-23, 25-21, 25-19

Saturday, April 20 – Championship (at Saint Xavier)
• Match #5: No. 1 Saint Xavier def. No. 2 Calumet St. Joseph 25-16, 25-17, 25-22