La Crosse, Wis. – The No. 2 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (17-3/7-0 CCAC) earned a pair of victories at the Viterbo University (Wis.) Tri-Match Saturday afternoon at the R.W. Beggs, Sr. Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis. The Cougars defeated the host V-Hawks in three sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) contest in the first match, followed by a three-set triumph (25-14, 25-13, 25-21) over Clarke University (Iowa) in non-conference action in the second match of the afternoon. Freshman setter Mark Gheorghita (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) dished out a career-high 41 assists, and freshman outside hitter/opposite hitter Marko Skuletic (Belgrade, Serbia/Tair & Belgrade Gymnasium) collected a career-best 10 kills in the win over Viterbo. Junior opposite hitter/outside hitter Donte Jennings (Spokane Valley, Wash./Morningside/Jamestown/Central Valley) tallied a season-high 10 kills to pace the SXU offense in the victory over the Pride.

Match One:

• Gheorghita also had four digs, two kills and a service ace, while Skuletic added three blocks.
• Freshman middle blocker Hayden Grange (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) came away with 10 kills, the first time in his career that he has posted 10 or more kills in consecutive matches, on a phenomenal .769 attack percentage (10-0-13) with an ace and a block.
• Freshman outside hitter Bernardo Kumm (Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil/Colegio Maua) logged nine kills on an efficient .500 attack percentage (9-1-16), adding four digs, two blocks, an assist and a service ace.
• Freshman outsider hitter Owen Krause (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) recorded five kills and three digs.
• Redshirt freshman middle blocker Nick Gutka (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Purdue Fort Wayne/Conant) registered four kills and three blocks.
• Freshman middle blocker Nikolay Kotevski (Sofia, Bulgaria/Britanica Park School) finished with four kills, while Jennings had a pair of kills, an assist and a dig.
• Freshman defensive specialist/libero Malachi Seying (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) made his collegiate debut, coming away with a team-leading nine digs.
• Freshman outside hitter Henry Truitt (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) had a team-high three aces, an assist and a dig.

Match Two:

• Jennings also tied his season-high with three digs and a block.
• Junior outside hitter Caydann Cox (Helena, Mont./Jamestown/Jamestown) tallied nine kills, two blocks (one solo), two service aces and a dig.
• Senior middle blocker Tysen Myers (Apple Valley, Minn./Jamestown/Eastview) posted eight kills on a stellar .500 attack percentage (8-1-14) with three blocks and two digs.
• Gheorghita issued a match-leading 22 assists, along with three digs, an ace and a kill.
• Skuletic totaled four digs, four kills, an assist, a block and a service ace.
• Graduate student opposite hitter Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) played in one set, collecting three kills, an ace and a dig.
• Junior setter Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) had seven assists, two digs and a dig in one set.
• Truitt registered four service aces and a dig, and Grange recorded two aces, a dig and a kill.
• Senior libero Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) finished with four assists and four digs, while Seying chipped in three digs.

No. 2 Saint Xavier (17-3/7-0 CCAC) makes the short trip to Palos Heights, Ill. to play Trinity Christian College (Ill.) in a CCAC match on Thursday, March 19. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 pm.