Setter Kaleigh Ritter setting middle hitter Courtney Hunter on September 15, 2022. (Saint Xavier University Athletics).
The Saint Xavier Women’s volleyball team started off the season losing all five of their first five games. Safe to say that this was not the start that they were looking for. Recently they have turned that around winning four games straight.
Last year, the Cougars had an extremely underwhelming season going only 11-15 overall. This season was very abnormal for the Cougars because the last time they were under .500 was in 2020. In the years following 2020 they have played great volleyball and their record showed it.
A huge reason as to why the Cougars had a down year was because they graduated three of their starters from the 2022 team. Star libero Avanna Martinez was also out for the season, and the team did not have an elite attacking option until outside hitter Connie Lebel joined the team in September.
After this down year, Coach Bob Heersema took initiative and brought in twelve new members for this 2024 season. One new player who has stood out so far this season is Samantha Hovey.
Hovey has already tallied an impressive 307 assists and has been awarded CCAC setter of the week.
Coach Heersema was also able to bring back star middle Courtney Hunter for a fifth year. Hunter has remained consistent since she has been a Cougar averaging 2.45 kills per set on .271 efficiency over her career. Recently Hunter got her 1,000th kill putting her in elite company as only 20 players have done so before her.
Martinez has also made her long awaited comeback against Aquinas and has played phenomenal since. She had an impressive 31 dig game in a five set win against Huntington, Indiana, which is the second most she has recorded in her career.
Kaleigh Ritter has also made her return this season after missing the first eight games with an injury. Ritter’s return is a big win for the team as she is a two time all-American and a great overall player. In her game against Indiana South Bend, Ritter added 14 assists. Making her the seventh player to achieve 3,000 assists at Saint Xavier.
Ritter already has a good connection with several of the hitters on this team. She has already played with Hunter and opposite Abby Gentile. Ritter and Lebel also played club volleyball in high school together and had half a year together at the college level.
The Cougars have two great attacking options on the pins with Lebel and Gentile on the team. Gentile currently has 87 kills and is hitting .262 on the season. While Lebel has already reached triple digits in kills this season with 107 while hitting .200 on the season. These two pin attackers make them formidable against any team.
With the Cougars running a 6-2 offense with Ritter and Hovey, it will take a little time for Hovey to gain a connection with her hitters. Once the team gains more chemistry, they should find a lot of success moving forward.
Their next game is coming up on Tuesday against Governors State University Jaguars who currently have the same record as the Cougars. The Cougars have the momentum winning four games in a row while the Jaguars lost their last game. If the current starting lineup continues to play well, the Cougars should walk away with a win.
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