The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team looked to build off their first win with three home games against quality opponents. The Cougars are in the midst of a lengthy home-stand and welcomed conference opponents Cardinal Stritch University and Trinity Christian College to the Shannon Center, as well as out of conference foe Marian University last week.
February 16 vs Cardinal Stritch University
Their first game following a win did not go as planned for the Cougars as sloppy play and offensive struggles ultimately led to their downfall against the Cardinal Stritch Wolves. The Cougars had plenty of chances on the offensive end, but failed to capitalize on attack opportunities. Sean Barry finished with a team-high 12 kills. However, his teammates converted only 15 kills on 51 total attempts.
The final attack percentage for Saint Xavier ended at a sloppy .079 as opposed to Cardinal Strich’s .273. The first set was competitive, but it took a swing for the worse with the score tied at 11. The Wolves scored seven of the next eight points off several miscues by the Cougars, and at that point head coach Robert Heersema had seen enough.
After a timeout, the Cougars responded with an onslaught of their own with solid play from Sean Barry, Kevin Mayer and Dan O’Keefe. Despite the effort, it was not enough to overcome the large deficit as Cardinal Stritch owned a firm grasp of the first set and eventually won 25-16. Being unable to capitalize on 30 total attack opportunities had a major impact on the first set for the Cougars, as they finished with only nine kills verses seven errors.
Saint Xavier hoped to rebound in the second and third sets, but the theme of struggling offensively continued. The Cougars had no answer for the Wolves’ dominant attack the rest of the match. Combining the number of kills by Cardinal Stritch in the second and third sets, the Wolves converted on 24 of 48 kill attempts.
Without including their nine errors, Cardinal Stritch finished with a ridiculous .500 attack percentage, which is incredibly difficult for any team to overcome. The result eventually ended in a sweep of the Cougars in straight sets. The final two sets completed with scores of 25-18 and 25-19.
In a match that included several missteps and missed opportunities, the Cougars were forced to tip their caps and look forward to their next opponent, Trinity Christian College.
February 18 vs Trinity Christian College
Determined to end their conference losing streak, Saint Xavier put on an impressive showing against the Trolls of Trinity Christian at the Shannon Center on Thursday night. Outside hitter Sean Barry continued his notable season with another strong performance. Providing a game-high 16 kills and 11 digs, Barry put the Cougars in a prime position to win their first conference match of the year.
With help from outside hitter Dan O’Keefe, middle blockers Bradley Gadek, Noel Bragagnolo, and Thomas Matonis, as well as libero Dominic Villa and setter Moises Lobez, Saint Xavier sent the Trolls back under their bridge by winning the match in straight sets.
Saint Xavier responded well after a disappointing defeat just two days prior. The first set was a nail-biter throughout and it actually looked like Trinity would come out on top. With a score of 23-20 in favor of the Trolls, SXU was in dire need of a big play to shift the momentum.
Right on que, Bragagnolo handled a set from O’Keefe and provided a huge kill for the Cougars to cut the deficit to two. After an SXU service ace and another timely kill to tie it at 23, Trinity was able to respond with a kill of their own.
Despite it being game-point for the Trolls, Saint Xavier managed to maintain their composure. Trinity choked the game away by making three straight attacking errors, and the Cougars went on to win an exciting first set 26-24. The second set was almost identical to the first.
However, at one point, it looked like it was Saint Xavier’s turn to choke the game away. Fast forward to late in the set and SXU held a commanding 21-15 lead. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Trolls stormed back with seven of the game’s next eight points and tied it at 22.
The Cougars responded with a kill and a service ace to make it game-point, but Trinity refused to go down quietly. After a timeout by Trinity Christian and the score sitting at 24-22 in favor of SXU, the Cougars made two critical attacking errors in a row, fabricating the next point as a match-changer.
With tensions at its highest point in the Shannon Center, the resulting point went to Saint Xavier thanks to a service error by the Trolls. The Cougars ended the second set in style with a kill by O’Keefe. After winning the second set by the same score as the first, SXU was determined to reverse that trend.
The Cougars fell behind quickly in the third set, but eventually battled back and established control of the final frame. Saint Xavier put together their best offensive performance of the night by finishing the set with a .310 attack percentage. The Cougars won 25-19 and improved their record to 2-8 overall and 1-4 in the CCAC.
February 19 vs Marian University
The Cougars had their most exciting performance of the season Friday night at the Shannon Center against Marian University (MU). It was the Sean Barry show in this contest as the junior outside hitter set a Saint Xavier Men’s volleyball record with 26 kills, eclipsing Evan Muys’ previous high of 23 that stood since 2012.
Barry impressively accomplished the feat in four sets and the Cougars needed every one of his kills in order to win the match. Setter Moises Lopez provided many opportunities for players Dan O’Keefe, Noel Bragagnolo, Bradley Gadek and Thomas Matonis up front, however it was Barry reaping most of the reward.
O’Keefe, on top of his 13 kills, contributed heavily at setter as well. Lopez and O’Keefe combined for 49 assists on the evening. After falling in the first set 25-19, Saint Xavier strung together three straight sets of the most exciting volleyball of the year.
Barry was an absolute monster up front in the second set, tallying 10 of his record setting 26 kills in the frame. The junior heavily influenced the tide of the set on two different occasions. With the score 14-9 in favor of MU, four of the following five Saint Xavier points came by way of Barry kills.
After countless athletic instances from both MU and SXU, the score later stood at 23-21 and the Cougars were in danger of dropping the first two sets of the match. Barry refused to let that happen and managed to valiantly put Saint Xavier ahead late 24-23 after three straight crowd-shaking kills.
The two teams exchanged points as the second set went into overtime. With the score tied at 30, Sean Barry had the biggest kill of the set and put all the pressure on Marian University. The Cougars won 32-30 after an attack error by MU.
It would be difficult for the two teams to match the intensity of the second set, but they somehow managed to do it in the third. Barry started right where he left off and gave Saint Xavier their first point via a kill. From then on, no team would hold more than a two point lead for the remainder of the set.
Back-and-forth the two teams went resulting in a magnificent display of competitiveness, intensity and heart. Finally, after the third set went into overtime once again, the Cougars managed to make the lesser amount of errors and won 32-30. Saint Xavier led two sets to one and played in a fourth for the first time all season.
The Cougars led by as many as eight in the contest, but almost let the game slip away towards the end. Leading 21-13, it looked as though the match was all but won. Marian University, however, put together a late comeback attempt and cut the deficit to 22-20.
The entire match had been a dog-fight to this point and Saint Xavier wanted to avoid a third straight overtime. After Sean Barry’s final kill of the evening to set up game-point for the Cougars, the match ended on an attack error by MU. Saint Xavier won the fourth and final set 25-22, and took the match three sets to one.
Bragagnolo finished the night with eight kills, while Gadek added seven of his own to go along with 10 block assists. Villa provided a strong defensive effort by tying the team high with 11 digs. Barry’s record breaking evening ended with 26 kills, three service aces, 11 digs, and five block assists.
The Cougars got revenge after losing to Marian University earlier this season, and improved their record to 3-8 overall. Saint Xavier’s next contest is against Benedictine University Thursday, February 25 at the Shannon Center.
Mike Rankin
Sports Contributor