The week started off a little rough for the Saint Xavier University women’s volleyball team, but it got better by the end of the weekend.
The Cougars hosted Cardinal Stritch University in their first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) game of the season.
The two teams played an incredible match that had a lot of effort and intensity on display, but Cardinal Stritch outlasted the Cougars in five sets, winning: 25-16, 18-25, 13-25, 25-22, 11-15.
After a wonderful rendition of the national anthem, the two teams started play and the Cougars came out with fire and ferocity, taking an early 7-2 lead on their way to a decisive nine-point victory.
In the next game, Cardinal Stritch took control from the start and led the match by 10 at one point, but the Cougars fought hard, despite ended up falling by seven points to the visitors from Wisconsin.
The third game was also dominated by Cardinal Stritch as they won by twelve, but the fourth game was much closer. Cardinal Stritch again tried pulling away but Coach Bob Heersema called a timeout when Cardinal Stritch took a 16-10 lead and the Cougars regrouped to tie it up.
The game went back and forth from there with both teams’ passionate fans cheering them on. The Cougars eventually pulled away for a three-point victory to set up a fifth and deciding game.
Cardinal Stritch was the first to 15 in this one as they took the ultimate game by four points. The ladies of SXU volleyball put up a good fight but were defeated in their first conference game of the season.
The team was led once again by junior setter Kelli Shaffer, who played well offensively and defensively, posting 26 assists, 4 kills, 2 service aces, and a career-best 20 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Heidi Gregerson had 12 kills and Dominique Aramburu had 17 digs for the team as they both contributed great efforts in defeat.
On Friday, the Cougars took a trip on the road to Michigan to take on Siena Heights University in a nonconference road game. The team was able to rebound from their defeat on Tuesday by beating Siena Heights in four sets: 25-20, 14-25, 25-17, 26-24.
The team was led by junior middle hitter Marie Hackert, who had 12 kills and only one attack error. Gregerson also had a nice game with 8 kills and 7 blocks, and sophomore right side hitter Meghan Falsey chipped in 11 kills as she continues to play better as the season goes along, all the while recovering from an injury that ended her season last year. Shaffer continues her amazing season with 38 assists, 9 digs, and 5 kills.
The Cougars stayed on the road to victory when they took on another nonconference opponent in Ohio. The team looked to continue their winning ways against Lourdes Univeristy and they were successful in their endeavor.
They won this match impressively in three sets: 25-18, 25-20, 25-20. Gregerson and Hackert both finished with double-digit kills, 13 and 11, respectively. Falsey added 8 more kills and 3 block assists and Aramburu had another great defensive performance with a team-best 21 digs. Shaffer once again played well with 32 assists and eight digs.
The team improved to 5-6 with the weekend sweep and will try to build off of that momentum. The Cougars’ next game is against Robert Morris University at SXU in the Shannon Center at 7 p.m. p.m. The women’s volleyball team invites everyone to come out and cheer them on.
Damone Griffin
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