The Saint Xavier Cougars men’s volleyball team wrapped up their season this week with some average play. The Cougars started their week on March 26th, when they travelled to Palos Heights, Illinois to play the Trinity Christian Trolls. Saint Xavier entered the game with a 16-5 record, while Trinity Christian entered with a 11-10 record.
The Cougars absolutely dominated the first set, eventually winning it 25-15. The Trolls fought back in the second set, eventually tying it up 19-19. The Trolls kept playing strong and SXU just couldn’t respond and eventually lost the second set 21-25. Saint Xavier fired back in the third set, neutralizing the Trinity Christian attack and eventually winning the set 25-14. In the decisive fourth set, both teams played back and forth, but it was SXU who ended up on top, eventually winning the set and the game 25-20.
The Cougars improved to 17-5 with the victory, while the Trolls fell to 11-11 with the loss. Two days later, SXU traveled home to play the Cardinal Stritch Wolves. The Wolves entered the game with a 10-14 record. The Cougars dominated the first set, save for a failed comeback from the Wolves, eventually winning it 25-21. The second set was very close, with both teams eventually ending up tied at 22.
The Wolves took things over from there and won the second set 25-22. The third set was very similar to the first set, with the Cougars ending up winning it 25-21. The Wolves dominated the fourth set, but SXU attempted a comeback late in the set. However, Cardinal Stritch shut it down and eventually won it 25-22. In the fifth and final set, the Wolves completely dominated, not allowing the Cougars to get any momentum. Cardinal Stretch eventually won the set 15-7 and with it, won the game. Saint Xavier fell to 17-6 with the loss, while Cardinal Stritch improved to 11-14 with the victory.
After a dominant victory over Viterbo University, the Cougars traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin to play the Mount Mercy Mustangs. Mount Mercy endered the game with a 19-7 record, while the Cougars entered with a 18-6 record.
The first and second sets were very close, but both ended with the Mustangs winning them 25-22 and 25-23 respectively. In the third set, the Cougars fought back, jumping out to an early 17-10 lead and eventually winning it 25-18. The fourth set was very back and forth, but SXU eventually took control and won it 25-22. In the fifth and final set, both teams played fast and hard, eventually tying things up 9-9. However, the Mustangs squashed any hopes of a Saint Xavier victory with a 6-1 run that won them the set and game.
The Cougars fell to 18-7 with the loss, while the Mustangs improved to 20-7 with the victory. Saint Xavier will now participate in the CCAC Tournament and if they do well enough, they’ll advance to the national tournament.
It’s been an exciting year for the Cougars and it may only get better from here.
Chris Leonchik
Sports Editor
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