The SXU Men’s Volleyball team’s season has been put on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Before the season was postponed, the Cougars had an 11-7 record and were on a three-game losing streak.
They were scheduled to play a game against Saint Ambrose University at the Shannon Center on March 12th when the news came out from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that all spring sports would be postponed due to the Coronavirus.
This ruling caused the remainder of SXU’s season to be postponed, including eight regular season games, the CCAC Conference Tournament, and the NAIA National Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
This is a devastating blow to the team, but even more devastating for the team’s three seniors: Aaron Kummer, Ben Gabor, and Andrew Bergstrand. All three men were key leaders on this very young Cougars team and now all three may have played their last games as Cougars.
This postponement has not just affected the three seniors on the team, but has also impacted some of the other great players that the Cougars have had this year.
Junior outside hitter Grant Ooms has led this team in nearly every stat this year, but now his season may have just come to an end along with the rest of his teammates.
Now, it is very important that the NAIA used the word “postpone” instead of “canceled” because this means that the men’s volleyball season could technically resume at a future point.
Of course, this all depends on how America is able to react to the Coronavirus. If we, as a country, are able to make extremely tough decisions, follow guidelines set by healthcare professionals, and slow down the rate of infection, life might be able to return back to some sense of normalcy.
But for now, all sporting events, including our Cougars, are on an indefinite pause.
If the season is canceled, this brings up several interesting questions, mostly related to the senior members of the team. Will these seniors be given an extra year of eligibility or will they be denied it? This has been a hot topic of debate all over the collegiate athletic world, with the biggest collegiate sporting organization, the NCAA, adding an extra year of eligibility for all athletes in spring sports.
If the NAIA goes along with this move, that means every single player on the Cougars roster would be on the team for an extra year, including the three seniors on the team previously mentioned.
If this happens, this means that we will have an extremely stacked roster next year, returning all of their players from this year and adding players from high schools.
However, since we are talking about events that could happen in a year from now, we should all be focusing on the here and now. We should now be focusing on making sure that this Coronavirus spreads as little as possible, so that not just the athletes can return to a sense of normalcy, but for the entire country to return to some sense of normalcy.