CHICAGO – Redshirt junior middle blocker Shane Ooms (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community) recorded 20 kills on a stellar .792 attack percentage (20-1-24), however the No. 8 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (0-1/0-0 CCAC) lost its season opener to No. 5 The Master's University (Calif.) in four sets (21-25, 24-26, 25-22, 33-35) Thursday evening on Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill. It was the third match of the first day of the 2024 Chicago Tournament co-hosted by the Cougars and Judson University (Ill.). Ooms' attack percentage was the second-best for SXU in single-match history, minimum of 20 attempts, behind the mark set by former standout Sam Kull (2013-15), who had an .818 attack percentage (18-0-22) vs. Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) on March 17, 2015.

The fourth set score of 35-33 tied the highest point total for Saine Xavier in any match in team history. They lost the first set to No. 8 Georgetown College (Ky.) before rallying to win the match in five sets last season in Pool Play at the NAIA National Championship Tournament on April 12, 2023. It was also the fifth time in school history that the Cougars played in a match were both teams scored over 30 points each.

• Ooms also had two digs, a service ace and a solo block.
• Junior outside hitter Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) posted 18 kills in his SXU debut. He added two blocks and an assist.
• Sophomore outside hitter Jan Lopuch (Krakow, Poland/I Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Sportowego) tallied nine kills, eight digs, two block assists and an ace.
• Senior middle blocker John Glennon (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) registered five kills, a block and a dig.
• Redshirt junior outside hitter Vejas Cuplinskas (Riverside, Ill./Riverside Brookfield) also had five kills, along with an assist, a block and a dig.
• Fifth-year senior setter Christian Oviedo (Brea, Calif./Concordia-Irvine/Servite) handed out a team-best 27 assists in his Saint Xavier debut while adding three digs.
• Freshman setter Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) dished out 26 assists in his debut for the Cougars, along with three digs and three kills.
• Junior middle blocker Alessandro Gianotti (Desio, Italy/BYU/Leonardo Da Vinci) came away with a match-high four blocks and he had three kills in his SXU debut.
• Sophomore libero Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) scooped up a match-best nine digs along with four assists.

No. 8 Saint Xavier (0-1/0-0 CCAC) has a quick turnaround as they take on No. 4 Ottawa University (Ariz.) on Friday, January 26 at 7:00 pm on day two of the 2024 Chicago Tournament at the Shannon Center.