This past week, the Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team traveled to Des Moines Iowa to compete at the NAIA National Tournament for the national championship red banner.
Unfortunately for the team, their effort wasn’t enough to advance further in the tournament and Saint Xavier’s season has come to an end.
Heading into the tournament, confidence was riding high for the Cougars after beating Judson University in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) title game earlier in the month.
This was the third straight title for SXU and the fourth in five years.
The national championship tournament began with no. 10 ranked Saint Xavier taking on no. 1 ranked Benedictine University on April 11.
Saint Xavier struggled in the matchup and fell 3-0 in a hard fought contest.
Junior outside hitter Vejas Cuplinskas led the team with 14 kills, two digs and a block in the games.
Freshman outside hitter Jan Lopuch added 11 kills, two aces, an assist, and a dig on a .438 attack percentage.
The first set was a struggle for SXU, losing by six points, the largest margin of loss of the afternoon.
The next two were extremely close, with the Cougars losing 25-21, and 25-22 respectively.
The teams next matchup came one day later on April 12 against no. 8 Georgetown College.
SXU began the afternoon down two sets to zero, losing the first set 35-33, and the second 25-20.
With everything on the line, Saint Xavier rose to the challenge to defeat Georgetown in an exciting five set contest, reversing the narrative by winning three straight sets, 25-23, 25-21, and 15-9.
Freshman opposite hitter Oskar Krzyzak recorded 25 kills, seven digs, and three blocks to help lead the team to victory.
Freshman libero Andres Velez led the team in digs with 13 and tied his career high with six assists.
SXU led hitting percentage with .261 while Georgetown recorded .227.
SXU also led in blocks with 12 blocks while Georgetown had 11.
Georgetown led in digs with 47-36 and aces with 9-8, but no margin was significant.
Despite the thrilling victory, the win was not enough to advance the team into the championship round of the tournament, and their season came to a halt.
Though the Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team may walk away from the tournament defeated as they did not reach their ultimate goal, this was a season to be proud of.
Freshman Oskar Krzyzak was named CCAC player of the year and freshman Andres Velez was named libero of the year and received first team all conference honors.
Another freshman, Jan Lopuch was also named first team all conference.
Lopuch and Krzyzak were named second team NAIA All Americans.
SXU has a very bright future on deck with their young core of talent, and they will be looking to cash in big next season.