CHICAGO – Graduate student opposite hitter Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco), the reigning NAIA Player of the Year, was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Men's Volleyball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season for the No. 3 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (28-3/14-0 CCAC) when the conference awards were announced by the league office after the conclusion of the CCAC Tournament on Saturday that saw the top-seeded Cougars defeat No. 2 Governors State University (Ill.) in three sets. It is the seventh straight CCAC Tournament Championship for SXU. Senior libero Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) earned CCAC Libero of the Year for the fourth year in a row. Junior setter Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) claimed CCAC Setter of the Year honors for the first time. Head coach Tom Ryan, the defending NAIA Coach of the Year, won his fourth straight CCAC Coach of the Year award, and his sixth overall (2019 & 2021).

Daniels, Pennala, and Velez each were named All-CCAC First Team, along with junior outside hitter Caydann Cox (Helena, Mont./Jamestown/Jamestown), senior middle blocker Tysen Myers (Apple Valley, Minn./Jamestown/Eastview) and freshman middle blocker Hayden Grange (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills). With six players earning All-CCAC First Team recognition, this year's squad breaks the record of five All-CCAC First Team selections set last season.

Saint Xavier has now won CCAC Player of the Year in seven straight seasons, starting with outside hitter Grant Ooms (2020-22) in 2020, setter Aaron Kummer (2017-21) in 2021, setter Joe Lock (2022) in 2022, outside hitter Oskar Krzyzak (2023-25) in 2023, outside hitter Jan Lopuch (2023-24) in 2024, and Pennala in 2025 and 2026.

Daniels joins Kummer and Lock as the other players for the Cougars to win CCAC Setter of the Year as Kummer won in 2021 and Lock came away with the distinction in 2022.

• Pennala has been named All-CCAC First in all three seasons with SXU. He has played in 81 sets and 26 matches, and is the team leader in kills with 319 on a .347 attack percentage (319-104-620). Earlier in the season, Pennala became the program's all-time leader in kills, and is the only player in team history with 1,000 or more kills (1,082). He has added 134 digs, 55 blocks (seven solos), 38 service aces and 21 assists. Pennala also leads the team with 388.0 points this year, as well as the all-time team leader with 1,302.5. He earned CCAC Attacker of the Week three times this year.
• Velez earned All-CCAC honors for the fourth straight season. He has played in 88 sets and 27 matches, and leads the team with 251 digs, and became the first player in team history to surpass 1,000 or more digs earlier season, currently with 1,259. Velez is second on the team with a .972 reception percentage on 390 attempts, while adding 59 assists, 11 aces and a pair of kills. He was named the CCAC Defender of the Week four times in 2026.
• Daniels is now a two-time All-CCAC First Team selection. He has played in 84 sets and 26 matches, leading the squad with 910 assists for an average of 10.83 per set. Daniels became just the second player, behind Kummer, to collect 2,000 or more career assists earlier this season. He has also added 132 digs, 37 blocks (eight solos), 35 service aces and 27 kills. Daniels earned NAIA Setter of the Weeks three times (February 3, February 10 & March 24) and CCAC Setter of the Week eight times this season.
• Cox is also now a two-time All-CCAC First Team honoree. He has played in 85 sets and 26 matches, and is second on the team with 281 kills on a .310 attack percentage (281-80-648). Cox has a team-best .989 reception percentage on 447 attempts, along with 67 blocks (15 solos), 84 digs, 28 aces and 11 assists. He claimed CCAC Attacker of the Week twice on February 3 and February 10.
• Myers has played in 86 sets and 27 matches so far this season for the Cougars. He has a team-leading .427 attack percentage (161-36-293) (min. 250 attempts) with 161 kills, and has a team-high 92 blocks (14 solos). Myers has added 16 digs and an assist. He was named the CCAC Defender of the Week on February 17.
• Grange has played in a team-high 96 sets and 30 of 32 matches. He leads the team with 71 service aces. Grange also has 139 kills on a .455 attack percentage (139-28-244), 59 blocks (10 solos), 32 digs and an assist. He earned CCAC Attacker of the Week honors on April 7.
• Ryan has guided SXU to a 28-3 record and a national ranking of No. 3. He has guided Saint Xavier to 40 consecutive regular season conference wins, going undefeated in CCAC play in each of the last three seasons. In his eighth season with the Cougars, he has helped lead the squad to its sixth straight CCAC regular season crown and to their seventh consecutive appearance in the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament. Overall, Ryan has a record of 185-50 for a .787 winning percentage.

No. 3 Saint Xavier (28-3/14-0 CCAC) will find out its opponent and seeding in the national tournament when the national office releases the pairings on its YouTube Channel on Tuesday, April 21 at 11:00 am.