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Saint Xavier University

Official Athletics Website of the Saint Xavier University Cougars

Men's Volleyball, 2023

Men's Volleyball

Krzyzak Powers No. 9 SXU Past No. 8 Georgetown in Five-Set Thriller

Box Score West Des Moines, Iowa – Freshman opposite hitter Oskar Krzyzak (Rzeszow, Poland/Szkota Mistrzostwa Sportowego Rzeszow) tied his career-high with 25 kills on a .340 attack percentage (25-8-50), along with seven digs and three blocks to help lead No. 9 Saint Xavier University men's volleyball (23-5/12-1 CCAC) to a thrilling 'reverse sweep' five-set victory (33-35, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-9) over No. 8 Georgetown College (Ky.) Wednesday evening at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in Pool A play in the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament in West Des Moines, Iowa. The win was the first in program history in the tournament (1-8) in their four appearances. The triumph also avenges the three-set defeat the Cougars suffered to the Tigers to begin the season on January 27 in Georgetown, Ky.
  • Freshman outside hitter Jan Lopuch (Krakow, Poland/I Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Sportowe) tallied 13 kills with six digs and three aces. He now has 52 on the season and is just the third player to record 50 or more aces in a season for SXU.
  • Junior outside hitter Vejas Cuplinskas (Riverside, Ill./Riverside Brookfield) came away with 13 kills, four digs, three blocks and two service aces.
  • Senior setter Noah Randall (Plainfield, Ill./Quincy/Plainfield Central) issued a season-best 46 assists and added four digs, three blocks and an ace.
  • Junior middle blocker John Glennon (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) recorded five blocks (one solo), four kills and a dig.
  • Junior middle blocker Jake McClain (Homer Glen, Ill./Marist) had a team-high six blocks (two solo) along with two kills and an ace.
  • Freshman libero Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) scooped up 13 digs, tied his career-high with six assists and added a service ace.
  • The first set would set the tone for the evening that saw GC win 35-33. The teams combined for 19 lead changes in the set, 11 set points and 10 ties. Krzyzak recorded 10 of his 25 kills in the frame and Randall had 15 assists. Overall, on the night there were 45 lead changes, 19 ties and 19 set points.
  • Georgetown controlled the second set with a .583 attack percentage (15-1-24) to Saint Xavier's .008 attack percentage (7-5-25).
  • In the third frame, a kill by Krzyzak cut the deficit to 6-5 and McClain would hold serve to give the Cougars an 8-6 advantage. After a service error, Randall and Glennon registered a block and Lopuch posted back-to-back kills to force a timeout with SXU up 12-8. However, the Tigers rallied to go up 13-12 before Krzyzak retied the match. Another run by Saint Xavier put them ahead 19-16 that resulted in a GC timeout. SXU led 24-20 but Georgetown rattled off three kills. After a timeout, Glennon would end the set with a solo block.
  • The fourth set was a see-saw battle and was tied 19-19. A yellow card was issued to Saint Xavier, their second of the match, that resulted in a red card and a point for the Tigers. The Cougars responded with a kill by Lopuch, an ace by McCalin and a pair of GC attack errors to go up 23-20. After a Saint Xavier service error, they had a kill by Glennon and Krzyzak and Glennon went up for the block to send the match to a fifth set.
  • Georgetown opened the final frame with a kill, however an attack error, two kills by Cuplinskas and a kill by Krzyzak resulted in a GC timeout. Coming out of the break, Lopuch tallied his third ace of the evening to extended the lead to 5-1 and Cuplinskas flipped the court a couple of plays later at 8-3 with a kill. The Tigers would get as close as 11-7 and Krzyzak pushed the lead back to five with a kill. Cuplinskas registered his sixth kill of the set to end the match and give the Cougars the comeback victory.

No. 9 Saint Xavier (23-5/12-1 CCAC) awaits the outcome of the match between No. 1 Benedictine University at Mesa (Ariz.) and No. 8 Georgetown College (Ky.) on Thursday, April 13 on day three of pool play in Pool A. A win by GC would force a one-set tiebreaker on Friday between the three teams. A win by BenU would allow them to advance to the Semifinals Friday afternoon and end SXU's season.

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