The Saint Xavier Men’s Volleyball (no. 10) team has won its third straight Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championship, as well as the third straight season in which the Cougars won the regular season title. This is also the men’s fourth CCAC title in five years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).
An absolutely remarkable feat for a noteworthy team who looks to continue their domination in the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship, next week.
Before being crowned champs of the CCAC, the Cougars had to take on two familiar opponents.
SXU began the tournament by taking on Trinity Christian College in the semifinals on March 31, beating them in three straight sets with scores of 25-13. 25-20, and 25-15.
This was the second year in a row where Saint Xavier and TCC faced off in the semifinals.
Freshman outside hitter, Jan Lopuch, led the Cougars to victory in this game. He recorded a match-high 15 kills on an outstanding .560 attack percentage (15-1-25). Lopuch also had three service aces, one coming off a match point.
Like they have so many other times throughout this season, SXU simply overpowered their opponent from start to finish. They finished with a team attack percentage of .453 compared to Trinity’s .050. En route to victory, they also had five aces to TCC’s one.
It was a short turn around for the Cougars with the championship game the next day at 1pm against Judson University. This was also the second consecutive season in which SXU took on Judson in the CCAC championship game and beat them in three straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-22).
Freshman opposite hitter, Oskar Krzyzak, registered the match-leading 17 kills in addition to a .448 (17-4-29) hitting percentage, three digs, two service aces, and a block.
Krzyzak is just the eighth player in program history to eclipse 300 kills in a single season. He currently sits at 314, which is ranked sixth all-time in team history.
Lopuch was the other Cougar to reach double digits in the kill category, with 10. He also had two aces, two digs, an assist, and a solo block.
Although this power-centered Saint Xavier team would not be as successful they are without their teammates who feed them and keep plays going.
Junior setter, Jason Klein, had a monster day himself, handing out 40 assists in addition to three digs and a block.
For the 14th time this season, freshman libero, Andres Velez, recorded 10 or more digs in a match. Velez had a match-high ten digs on top of two assists.
The Cougars were once again too much to handle for their opponent, registering a .494 (47-9-77) attack percentage to JU’s .247. This team attack percentage is the fifth-best single game mark in program history.
Next week Saint Xavier will travel to Des Moines, IA, to compete in the fourth annual NAIA Men’s Volleyball Championship. They will be competing in Pool A.
Pool play for the Cougars will start against Benedictine University at Mesa on Tuesday, April 11, scheduled to begin at 7pm. Game two will take place the next day, also at 7pm, against Georgetown College.
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