Abby Gentile attempts a kill SXU Athletics
Saint Xavier’s women’s volleyball team competed in the Missouri Baptist Tournament over the weekend, going 1-2. The Cougars split their matches on the first day and lost on Saturday.
As of today, the Cougars’ record stands at 10-12 overall, 7-4 in conference.
There are just three regular season games left for the Cougars before the CCAC tournament begins.
SXU vs. Lindsey Wilson College: 25-20, 25-23, 11-25, 20-25, 15-13 (W)
After jumping out to a 2-0 set lead on LWC, the Blue Raiders continued to put up a fight, eventually evening the sets at two apiece, forcing a fifth and final set.
There was a lot of back and forth scoring between the teams in the first two sets, neither team ever pulling away with a dominant lead.
Set one ended with a kill from junior opposite hitter Abby Gentile with an assist from junior setter/libero Kaleigh Ritter. Set two ended in similar fashion with a kill from sophomore middle blocker Nicole Grochula to put away Lindsey Wilson.
SXU was just a set away from closing out with a sweep, but LWC won the third set with a big score of 11-25 and took set four with a score of 20-25.
The last set started with back and forth action, much like the first two sets, but Saint Xavier found a way to rally and go up 13-8. Unfortunately, the Blue Raiders fought their way right back into the set, tying the game at 13.
Needing every win they could get to stay in second place in conference, the Cougars scored two more points to close out the fifth set with a win.
Gentile (15) and junior outside hitter Connie LeBel (14) combined for 29 kills in the win. LeBel also had a match-high four service aces.
SXU vs. No. 7 Missouri Baptist: 19-25, 11-25, 18-25 (L)
Game two of the tournament was a completely different story for the Cougars, getting swept with relative ease by Missouri Baptist.
The Cougars showed some fight in the first set, going toe-to-toe with MBU.
At one point the Spartans had a 12-17 lead, getting closer to closing out the first set, but SXU got right back in the thick of it andSet featured image tied the set at 17. Despite their efforts to make a comeback, Missouri Baptist closed out with a win by scoring eight of the last 10 points.
Set two was a sight for sore eyes if you were a Saint Xavier fan. MBU jumped out to an incredible 1-10 lead, essentially squashing any momentum the Cougars thought they had.
The second set never got better for Saint Xavier, only scoring 10 more points in the painful loss.
The Cougars had some life again in the third set, but it still was not enough to grab at least one set from the top-10 ranked Missouri Baptist.
SXU went down early 5-10, fought back to tie the set at 11, but eventually fell back down 14-22 before MBU closed out the set with a kill to seal the 18-25 victory.
Senior middle blocker Courtney Hunter led Saint Xavier with 10 kills and also tallied a service ace and a block.
SXU vs. No. 8 Park University (MO.): 12-25, 15-25, 12-25 (L)
Saint Xavier’s final game of the tournament was another loss to a ranked opponent.
This was the fourth ranked opponent SXU has played this season and was the fourth time getting swept by one. Their games against Indiana Wesleyan University and Indiana University Kokomo, were also lopsided losses to ranked teams.
22-2 Park University made quick work of the Cougars, defeating them in straight sets with ease.
Gentile was the only Cougar to reach double digits in kills (10) in addition to five digs.
Freshman setter Abbey Opilka recorded her fifth double double of the season with 14 assists and 14 digs. She also had two service aces and a kill in the last game of the weekend.
A dominant force in the CCAC just one season ago looks entirely different this year as struggles the team faced early on have persisted throughout the season.
The team SXU fans have seen this season is a stark difference to what they saw the past two seasons. If the Cougars want a real shot at another CCAC title they are going to have to figure things out and do it quickly.
As the regular season comes to a close in the next two weeks, the Cougars are hoping to start playing with the rhythm they had in previous seasons and get hot at the right time for the CCAC tournament.
Their next game is Tuesday, Oct. 24 against Indiana University at South Bend in South Bend, IN. at 6 p.m.