Volleyball Team Rejoicing Together After a Successful Play SXU Athletics
The Saint Xavier (SXU) girls volleyball squad has been on an absolute tear as they currently find themselves on a five game winning streak. After losing to Viterbo University (Wis.) on Sept. 6, the girls became focused and decided to tap into their winning culture that they always knew they had.
During this run, SXU defeated Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ) (Ind.), Indiana University at South Bend (IUSB), Lourdes University (LU), Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) (Ill.), and most recently, Saint Ambrose University (SAU) (Iowa).
A player to highlight during this run is senior setter Samantha Hovey who finished every match with a double-double, and her match against SAU made it her eighth consecutive match where she has accomplished this feat.
We also can’t forget about senior outside hitter Jenny Jensen and fifth-year senior libero Avanna Martinez who have earned CCAC weekly awards.
Jensen was named CCAC Women’s Volleyball Attacker of the Week for her outstanding performance on the court, recording more than 10 kills in her last three matches. She recorded a total of 36 kills last week on a .395 attack percentage.
Martinez was named CCAC Defender of the Week, making it her fifth time in her collegiate career where she has earned the honor. In last week’s run, Martinez grabbed 66 digs and went 55/56 on receptions with an insane reception percentage of .981 percent.
These three were the main leaders in the Cougar’s success in the past week and why they found themselves back into their winning ways. But it was truly the team’s effort that encouraged the streak of winning.
SXU vs. Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.): 23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-15 (W)
In their first match of the dominant winning streak, we saw Jensen, Hovey, and Martinez lead their team in different categories.
This match saw SXU finish the game with a season-best 11 service aces, and come away with a four-set win going 3-1. Jensen posted a season-high 13 kills with six digs, Hovey had 22 assists, 12 digs, four kills, and an ace.
Martinez led the team in digs as she collected 15 of them alongside with an ace.
Junior outside hitter Kaylee Born went ahead and dropped a season-high nine kills and added six digs and two assists to her statline.
Senior middle blocker Nicole Grochola also recorded nine kills and added an assist and a dig. Grochola had a attack percentage of .333 percent (9-2-21).
Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Delaney Panozzo was the defensive anchor in this match as she posted a season-high four solo blocks, alongside five kills, an assist, and a dig.
SXU vs. Indiana University at South Bend: 26-24, 19-25, 12-25, 16-25 (W)
In their third CCAC matchup of the season, the Cougars can credit this win due to their defensive masterclass. This match saw the girls go for a season-high 94 digs, and a season-best 9.0 blocks with three solo blocks and 12 block assists.
This surge of defensive power stemmed from none other than Martinez, who finished this match with 32 digs, making this her fifth career match where she recorded 30 or more digs. Martinez also recorded six assists in this match.
Hovey also had a great defensive match, recording a career-high 19 digs with 25 assists, eight kills, two blocks, and a service ace.
SXU vs. Lourdes University: 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 (W)
This match highlighted Hovey and one of her strong double-doubles in her run, finishing with 21 assists and 16 digs. Hovey also recorded seven kills, a service ace, and a solo block.
Jensen showed out in this match with 11 kills, five digs, and a block. She finished with an attack percentage of .300 percent (11-2-30).
Martinez finished this match with 19 digs, seven assists and two aces.
SXU vs. Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.): 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 (W)
The defense only got better for the girls as they posted up a season-high 10.0 blocks in this match. Of the 10.0 blocks, five were solos and the other five were assisted.
Sophomore middle blocker Carrington Smith posted the impressive statline of nine kills, season-best three blocks, and a pair of service aces.
Jensen finished with nine kills as well and added two blocks, two digs, and an assist. Hovey dominated as usual with a statline of 18 assists and 15 digs. Hovey also recorded seven kills, two aces, and two blocks.
Martinez continued to show up defensively with 17 digs and added three assists and two service aces.
SXU vs. Saint Ambrose University (Iowa): 25-11, 25-17, 25-22 (W)
This past Thursday, the Cougars extended their streak to five matches by dominating with a season-high team attack percentage of .366 (42-8-93).
Hovey gets another double-double, recording 10 kills and 19 assists.
Grochola records eight kills, with a block and a dig. Jensen had seven kills with three digs, and a solo block.
Martinez had 17 digs with six assists and a service ace, and we saw graduate student defensive specialist Katie DeHaan record 10 digs and a match-high two service aces.
The Cougars look forward to extending this streak into six games as they’ll prepare to play against the Redhawks of Indiana University Northwest. It’ll be another CCAC matchup in which the girls currently have an impressive 4-1 record. Action will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 pm in Gary, Indiana.