It seems like it was just last week the men’s volleyball team at Saint Xavier University had their busiest week of the season. Well, it was only a few weeks ago.
This past week the Cougars had a chance to recover this week by only playing one game. However, this game was a conference matchup for the Cougars and it was on the road.
On Tuesday night, the Cougars traveled to Indiana to face the Crimson Waves from Calumet College of Saint Joseph.
Luckily for the Cougars, they would take home the win after sweeping the Waves. This is how they brought home this CCAC victory.
The Cougars came out swinging during this battle with the Waves. In fact, five different players finished the night with six or more kills in the victory over the Waves.
Junior outside hitter Jake Olson, sophomore middle blocker Mike Burci, sophomore middle blocker Ben Gabor, and senior middle blocker Brad Gadek recorded six kills on the night.
Senior middle blocker Tom Matonis also had a big night of his own. He recorded nine kills on the night, which is now his season-high on kills.
In the start of first set, the Cougars dominated and showed their power. With the early 6-5 lead, Olson’s kill started a trend for the Cougars. This kill lead to a 10-2 run get run up the lead 16-7.
During this run, Olson rallied ten points by nailing three kills and two aces on serves. The Waves started to crawl back into the set by scoring three straight points, but the Cougars would be in the driver’s seat for the rest of the 25-14 first set win.
During the second set, the Cougars were heating up the court after playing off of the Wave’s hitting errors and a couple kills from Gadek. This would give the Cougars the early 8-3 lead.
The Cougars did not stop there. They went on to score nine straight points in the middle of the second set leading over the Waves 20-7.
The Waves would never catch up to the Cougars and they take the 25-13 win. It all came down to the third and what could have been the final set of the night.
The third set was the most competitive match between the Cougars and the Crimson Waves.
In fact, Calumet College of Saint Joseph led the third set 12-9 after going on a 7-2 run. This would be the first lead for the Waves.
After a couple of attacking errors, the Cougars were able to jump back in front for a brief moment leading the Waves 16-15. It was not long until the Crimson Waves took over the lead for the second time of the night with a 22-19 score.
It was up to Saint Xavier to answer back and they delivered that message to the Waves.
The Cougars ended up scoring the final six points of the set to get the 25-22 win and the sweep.
The Cougars are back in the Shannon Center on Tuesday night to play their final home match of the regular season. This matchup will be against conference rival Trinity Christian.
The first serve of the game will start at 7:00 pm. Come out for the final home game and cheer on your Cougars to victory!
Christine Manika
Sports Columnist