CHICAGO – Trailing 2-1 after three sets, the No. 2 seeded Saint Xavier University women's volleyball team (19-10, 13-1 CCAC) rallied to claim the fourth set, 25-16, after starting out on an 11-4 run, and pulled away in the fifth set to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory (17-25, 27-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-11) over No. 3 Judson University (Ill.) in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals Thursday evening on Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill. Senior outside hitter Connie LeBel (Crestwood, Ill./DePaul/Ferris State/Mother McAuley) posted a match-high 24 kills on a .356 attack percentage (24-3-59) along with 10 digs for her 13^th double-double of the season.

Fifth-year senior middle blocker Courtney Hunter (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) was also a force for the Cougars, collecting 15 kills on a .382 attack percentage (15-2-34) with four blocks (two solos) and a dig. Hunter, playing in her final home match, registered the match-winning kill to send SXU to the CCAC Tournament Championship. With a victory by No. 1 seed Viterbo University (Wis.) in the other semifinal match, Saint Xavier claims the CCAC's second automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round, by virtue of the V-Hawks winning the CCAC Regular Season Championship as the winners of the regular season and tournament titles earn the auto-bids.

• Redshirt junior setter Samantha Hovey (Mackinaw, Ill./Heartland/Dee-Mack) came away with a match-leading 39 assists, as well as four digs, four kills and a solo block.
• Redshirt junior libero Avanna Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Ponceno) was tough defensively, scooping up a match-best 27 digs. She now has seven matches with 20 or more digs this season. Martinez also had five assists and a service ace.
• Junior defensive specialist Katie DeHaan (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) also put in a solid defensive effort, recording 11 digs. She added a pair of aces and two assists.
• Junior middle blocker Nicole Grochola (Burbank, Ill./Reavis) registered six kills and two blocks (one solo).
• Freshman middle blocker Carrington Smith (Flossmoor, Ill./Marian Catholic) did a little bit of everything as she tallied five kills, four blocks (three solos), two digs and an assist.
• Junior outside hitter Jenny Jensen (Orland Park, Ill./Cardinal Stritch/Sandburg) posted a season-high with six digs, as well as three kills and a solo block.
• Freshman defensive specialist Taylor Vann (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness Catholic) came away with seven digs, a match-best three service aces and two assists, while sophomore setter Abbey Opilka (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central) chipped in seven assists and two digs in the winning effort.

Saint Xavier (19-10/13-1 CCAC) travels to La Crosse, Wis. to take on No. 1 seed and No. 15 ranked Viterbo University (Wis.) for the CCAC Tournament Championship on Saturday, November 16. The match is scheduled for a 4:00 pm first serve.