Sophomore middle blocker Carrington Smith Serving the Ball SXU Athletics
The women have continued to stay productive and win games, even extending their winning streak to nine games. That all eventually came to an end once they ran into No. 16 ranked Viterbo University (Wis.).
The Cougars ultimately fell to Viterbo and Trinity Christian College (Ill.) losing two straight matches, but picked things back up recently claiming a win against Governors State University.
The women now stand at 11-6, including a great conference record of 9-3
SXU vs. Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.): 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 (W)
Saint Xavier University women’s volleyball extended its winning streak to nine matches with a dominant 3-0 sweep over Calumet College of St. Joseph.
Sophomore middle blocker Carrington Smith led the way with a game-high 10 kills, a career-best six service aces, plus two digs and a block. This marks her fourth straight match with double-digit kills.
Senior setter Samantha Hovey added a match-leading 19 assists, along with eight digs, five kills, and an ace, while fifth-year senior libero Avanna Martinez anchored the defense with 13 digs, four assists, and an ace.
Junior setter Abbey Opilka contributed 10 assists and three digs, and senior outside hitter Jenny Jensen added five kills.
Sophomore middle blocker Delaney Panozzo recorded four kills, three blocks, and a dig, while senior outside hitter Tara Glynn and senior middle blocker Nicole Grochola each chipped in four kills.
Graduate student defensive specialist Katie DeHaan rounded out the effort with six digs and three aces as SXU recorded its fifth match of the season with 10 or more aces.
SXU vs. No. 16 Viterbo University (Wis.): 25-27, 25-21, 18-25, 13-25 (L)
The Saint Xavier University women’s volleyball team saw its nine-game winning streak snapped Friday night, falling 3-1 to No. 16 Viterbo University in a battle of the top two CCAC teams. The Cougars collectively notched 74 digs, marking their sixth match of the season with 70 or more.
Hovey led the Cougars with her team-best 11th double-double of the season, posting 24 assists, 11 digs, seven kills, three blocks, and an ace. Smith paced SXU’s offense with 11 kills, extending her streak of double-digit kill matches to five, while adding two blocks and a dig.
Martinez anchored the defense with a match-high 27 digs, her sixth 20-dig performance of the year, along with four assists and an ace. Grochola added eight kills and a block, and Panozzo brought in seven kills and a block.
Opilka tallied 14 assists, four digs, and an ace. Jensen contributed six kills, while DeHaan and Hoskin each reached double digits in digs with 11 and 10, respectively.
Sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Vann added six digs and a match-best two aces, and Glynn finished with three kills and three digs.
SXU vs. Trinity Christian College (Ill.): 17-25, 18-25, 23-25 (L)
The Saint Xavier University women’s volleyball team dropped its second straight match Saturday, falling to a 3-0 sweep against Trinity. This moved their record to 10-6 and their conference record to 8-3.
Hovey led the Cougars with team highs of 13 assists and nine kills, while adding five digs and two blocks. Smith contributed six kills, two blocks, and two digs, and Martinez anchored the defense with a match-best 19 digs, while also adding three assists and an ace to her statline.
Opilka added 11 assists, three digs, and a team-leading two aces. Grochola finished with four kills, an assist, a block, and a dig, while Vann chipped in eight digs and an ace.
Freshman middle blocker Ellie Graf made her mark with her first two collegiate kills, along with her first block and dig for SXU. Jensen tallied two kills and three digs.
SXU vs. Governors State University: 25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 25-20 (W)
The Cougars put themselves back into the winning column as they defeated Governors State University. The win moved SXU to 11-6 overall and 9-3 for their conference record.
Grochola led the way as she tied her career high with 14 kills and added a team-best three blocks.
Hovey reached a major career milestone, becoming the 17th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career assists. She now stands at 1,023 assists after finishing the match with 29 assists, nine digs, nine kills, and a block.
Opilka recorded her second double-double of the season, posting 12 assists and 11 digs, while adding an ace. Her key serving run in the fourth set helped SXU rally from a 12-9 deficit to take control at 17-12.
Martinez anchored the defense with a match-high 29 digs and added four assists. Jensen tallied nine kills and two digs, while Smith contributed across the board with eight kills, two aces, two blocks, an assist, and a dig.
Glynn tied her season high with seven kills, adding two digs and a block. DeHaan chipped in six digs, three aces, and her second kill of the year, while Vann added seven digs and an ace.
Sophomore Eva Wintersteen had a breakout performance with a career-best three kills, two blocks, and her first collegiate dig, which included the match-clinching kill for the Cougars.
The Cougars will have homecourt advantage this time around when they play their second match against Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.). The Cougars look to win their second straight game in this CCAC matchup. Action will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 7:00 pm at the Shannon Center.