Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The No. 2 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (31-0/12-0 CCAC) made program history by advancing to the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament Championship game after a thrilling four-set victory (25-18, 25-13, 11-25, 25-20) over No. 6 Missouri Valley College in the first semifinal match Friday afternoon at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sophomore outside hitter Caydann Cox (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown/Jamestown) and senior opposite hitter/setter Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) each tallied a match-high 15 kills for the Cougars. Cox finished with a .458 attack percentage (15-4-24) with 10 digs, three blocks and an assist, while Pennala added five assists, five digs and four blocks in the historic win. The triumph was the first ever for Saint Xavier in the all-time series, with the Vikings winning the previous seven contests, including their last meeting in pool play at the 2021 NAIA National Championship Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

• Sophomore setter Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) handed out a match-best 35 assists with four digs and three service aces.
• Junior libero Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) came away with a match-leading 15 digs with an ace and an assist.
• Graduate student middle blocker Drew Ehlers (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) collected a match-best five blocks, while adding four kills, a service ace and a dig.
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Vejas Cuplinskas (Riverside, Ill./Riverside Brookfield) recorded three kills, two blocks and a dig.
• Junior opposite hitter Oskar Krzyzak (Now Sacz, Poland/Szkota Mistrzostwa Sportowego Rzeszow) had three kills and a dig.
• Senior outside hitter Sean Carey (Skokie, Ill./Niles West) tallied five digs and a pair of kills.
• Senior middle blocker Alessandro Gianotti (Desio, Italy/BYU/Leonardo Da Vinci) finished with two blocks and two kills.
• Sophomore middle blocker Camden Steckler (Manteca, Calif./Jamestown/Manteca) added a block and a kill, while sophomore setter Aaron Amawan (Hanover Park, Ill./Bartlett) chipped in an ace.

No. 2 Saint Xavier (31-0/12-0 CCAC) faces the winner of No. 1 The Master's University (Calif) and No. 5 St. Thomas University (Fla) for the NAIA National Championship on Saturday, May 4. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 pm.