Grand Rapids, Mich. – Multiple individual and team milestones were set Saturday afternoon in a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-20, 27-29, 25-21) for the No. 2 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (18-0/7-0 CCAC) over No. 10 Cornerstone University (Mich.) at Mol Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Cougars set the program record for consecutive wins, besting the mark of 17 set last season, as well as setting a new team record for assists in a four-set match with 63 and kills in a four-set match with 66. Senior opposite hitter/setter
Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) became the SXU single-match record holder for kills after he collected 28 on a .360 attack percentage (28-10-50), topping the old record of 27 kills that was set by his former teammate,
Jan Lopuch (2023-24), against University of Jamestown on March 4, 2023.
Junior libero
Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) tallied 19 digs and he surpassed former standout Kyle Springer (2019-22) for the most digs in school history. For his career, Velez now has 815 digs, three more than Springer (812), while doing so in 123 fewer sets. Sophomore setter
Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) finished the match with 54 assists, and he became just the fifth player all-time for Saint Xavier to record 1,000 or more career assists. He currently ranks No. 5 with 1,029 assists in just his second season.
- Pennala added six digs, five blocks (one solo), two assists and two service aces. He also set the single-match team record with 33.0 total points, breaking the old record of 31.5 held by former standout Sean Barry (2014-17) in a match vs. NCAA Division III Marian University (Wis.) on February 19, 2016.
- Velez dished out a season-high seven assists and he had two aces.
- Daniels also had seven digs, a block, a kill and a service ace.
- Sophomore outside hitter Caydann Cox (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown/Jamestown) set a new career-high with 21 kills on a .370 attack percentage (21-4-46), topping 20 kills for the first time in his collegiate career. He also had five digs, three blocks and an ace.
- Graduate student middle blocker Drew Ehlers (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) was efficient on 12 attack attempts, posting seven kills (7-1-12) for a .500 attack percentage. He added a team-high six blocks, two digs and two service aces. With his seven kills, Ehlers became just the ninth player in program history to record 600 or more career kills, ranking No. 9 with 604.
- Senior outside hitter Sean Carey (Skokie, Ill./Niles West) tallied a season-high 10 digs, along with three kills, an ace and a block.
- Sophomore middle blocker Camden Steckler (Manteca, Calif./Jamestown/Manteca) chipped in six kills and a block.
No. 2 Saint Xavier (18-0/7-0 CCAC) wraps up its extended road trip with a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) match against Olivet Nazarene University on Tuesday, March 25. The match is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.
