Setter Samantha Hovey serving. (Aaron Amawan)
The Saint Xavier University (SXU) Cougars women’s volleyball team defeated conference rivals Indiana South Bend Titans and Calumet St. Joseph Crimson Wave this week.
The Cougars had an impressive record recently of 9-1 in their last 10 games. Their only loss came off of playing the 13th best team in the NAIA, the Viterbo V-Hawks. The Cougars currently sit comfortably at second place in the CCAC with an overall conference record of 12-1.
Recently, the Cougars have been without their starting setter Kaleigh Ritter, who has had an impressive season so far. Ritter has received the CCAC setter of the week award twice already this season. Thankfully for the Cougars, Samantha Hovey has become a solid replacement for Ritter.Hovey was awarded a single CCAC setter of the week earlier this season.
The Cougars played the Titans on Tuesday in a stressful match that ended up going all the way to five sets. Unfortunately for the Cougars, outside hitter Connie Lebel was out for this game and her presence was definitely missed.
Lebel has been on a tear this season, she currently has 327 total kills which sits her at 3rd place in the CCAC. She is also 3rd place in the CCAC for kills per set with 3.44 total. Luckily for the Cougars, Lebel was not out for long, as she made her comeback on Thursday against the Crimson Wave.
In tthe game against the Titans, the Cougars started off strong, jumping out to an 11-7 lead. The Cougars kept the lead for the rest of the first set and ended up winning 25-22.
Unlike the first set, the Cougars had a disastrous start to the second set against the Titans. The Titans quickly jumped out to an 11-5 lead, and things started to look grim for the Cougars after experiencing errors throughout the game.
The Cougars made 11 total errors in the first set, which amounts for almost half the points that the Titans scored in the second set. Shockingly, the Titans hit at a -.100% in the first set which is worse than the Cougars who hit a -.038%. Somehow, the Cougars still lost which was mostly due to their poor serving performance.
The third set started much better for the Cougars. The set went back and forth between the two teams, neither side was able to make a big run. Towards the end of the set, the Cougars made a few untimely errors while the Titans were able to come away with the win.
The Cougars were facing an uphill battle being down 2-1 in total sets. It didn’t seem like the Cougars felt a sense of urgency at the start of the set, as the Titans quickly jumped out to a 12-5 lead. Luckily for the Cougars, the Titans made several errors, which helped SXU to go on a 14-7 run which would end up tying the game at 19.
After this run, the Titans were unable to stop the Cougar’s offensive pressure, leading SXU to win the third set 25-22.
With the fifth set rolling, both teams were now feeling the pressure. The Titans started off strongly thanks to a poor passing performance by the Cougars. The Titans were able to jump out to a 10-6 lead before the Cougars started to mount a comeback.
The Cougars would end up going on a 9-2 run to finish off the fifth set and win the match. There were a few players on the Cougars side who had impressive performances this match. Courtney Hunter, who has been great all season, led the team with 12 total kills.
Middle Blocker Carrington Smith also had an impressive match with 11 kills on a .476 efficiency. Hovey also had her fifth double double on the season with 31 assists and 12 digs.
On Thursday the 31st, the Cougars played against the worst team in the conference, the Calumet Crimson Wave, who haven’t won a single game this season. The Cougars were able to easily take care of business and beat the Crimson Wave in three quick sets.
The Cougars next challenge will come against the Olivet Nazarene University Tigers who are currently tied for 6 with Indiana Northwest. After this game, the Cougars will be getting ready for the conference tournament which will start November 12.