Lexington, Ky. – Five members from the No. 3 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (28-3/14-0 CCAC) were named American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) NAIA All-Americans when the awards were announced Monday afternoon by the AVCA. Graduate student opposite hitter
Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) and junior outside hitter
Caydann Cox (Helena, Mont./Jamestown/Jamestown) were named AVCA-NAIA First Team All-Americans, senior libero
Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) claimed AVCA-NAIA Second Team All-American honors, and senior middle blocker
Tysen Myers (Apple Valley, Minn./Jamestown/Eastview) and sunior setter
Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) came away with AVCA-NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.
Pennala is now a three-time winner, an Honorable Mention in 2024, and he is now a two-time First Team selection. Velez is also a three-time honoree, earning Second Team for the second time (2024), and he was a First Team member a season ago. Cox repeats as a First Team pick for the Cougars, and he was a Second Team All-American for Jamestown University (N.D.) as a freshman. Daniels is a two-time winner after a Second Team nod last year. Myers earns his first AVCA-NAIA All-American laurel.
- Pennala was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Men's Volleyball Player of the Year for the second year in a row, and 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 claimed CCAC Libero of the Year for the fourth consecutive season, and had earned All-CCAC First Team 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 came away with CCAC Setter of the Year honors, and 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.
No. 3 Saint Xavier (28-3/14-0 CCAC) plays No. 11 Bethel University (Ind.) in Pool C action to being the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament on Tuesday, April 28 at 10:00 am at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
