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Saint Xavier University

Official Athletics Website of the Saint Xavier University Cougars

Pennala_action_BUM
0
Benedictine Mesa (AZ) BUM 6-2
3
Winner Saint Xavier (IL) SXU 8-0
Benedictine Mesa (AZ) BUM
6-2
0
Final
3
Saint Xavier (IL) SXU
8-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Benedictine Mesa (AZ) BUM 18 18 20 (0)
Saint Xavier (IL) SXU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

No. 2 Saint Xavier Takes Down No. 7 Benedictine Mesa in Three Sets

CHICAGO – Senior opposite hitter/setter Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) tallied a match-high 16 kills on a stellar .667 attack percentage (16-2-21), tied for the fifth-best attack percentage in single-match program history, to help lead the No. 2 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (8-0/1-0 CCAC) to a three-set triumph (25-18, 25-18, 25-20) over No. 7 Benedictine University Mesa (Ariz.) Friday evening on Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill. It was also a season-high in kills for Pennala, who also added three assists, three digs, a block and a service ace. SXU finished with a team attack percentage of .430 (45-11-79), their second match this year with an attack percentage of .400 or better. Half of the Cougars' victories to start the 2025 season have come against teams ranked in the NAIA Top 15.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Caydann Cox (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown/Jamestown) tied his season-high with 13 kills. He added four digs, two blocks (one solo) and an assist.
  • Sophomore setter Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) issued a match-best 34 assists, along with three digs and a pair of kills.
  • Junior opposite hitter Oskar Krzyzak (Now Sacz, Poland/Szkota Mistrzostwa Sportowego Rzeszow) came away with six kills, an assist, a dig and a solo block.
  • Graduate student middle blocker Drew Ehlers (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) collected four kills, three blocks and an ace. He became the first player in program history to record 300 career blocks, with 301, breaking the record of 299 held by former standout J.T. O'Connell (2011-14).
  • Junior libero Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) tallied a match-leading nine digs, along with an assist and a service ace.
  • Redshirt senior outside hitter Vejas Cuplinskas (Riverside, Ill./Riverside Brookfield) registered two blocks (one solo) and two kills.
  • Freshman middle blocker Kyle Petrusch (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) added a kill and a solo block, while senior outside hitter Sean Carey (Skokie, Ill./Niles West) chipped in two digs and a kill.
No. 2 Saint Xavier (8-0/1-0 CCAC) takes on Roosevelt University (Ill.) in non-conference action on Tuesday, February 18. The match is set for a 7:00 pm start at the Goodman Center in Chicago, Ill.
 
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