SXU Favored To Claim Its Seventh Straight Men's Volleyball Tournament Title

CHICAGO --- NAIA No. 3 nationally-ranked Saint Xavier University is again the odds-on favorite to claim this coming week's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament title.  Riding a 46-match unbeaten streak against league foes, the Cougars will be seeking their seventh straight tournament championship when play tips off on Tuesday night at a pair of sites.

Winners of all 14 CCAC matches this spring, while yielding only one set, SXU (26-3) has needed just the minimum three sets to win 22 of its 29 matches.  The other four victories came in four sets three times and five sets once.  As for its three setbacks, they came against powerhouses in No. 1 The Master's University (Calif.), NCAA I California Irvine and No. 4 Mount Mercy University (Iowa).

Saint Xavier, winners of 11 matches in a row, will sit out the quarterfinal round of the tournament as will No. 2 seed Governors State University (18-10).  Both squads earned first-round byes.

As for Tuesday's 6 pm matchups, No. 3 seed Olivet Nazarene University (15-13) will host No. 6 Judson University (10-19), while No. 5 Viterbo University (9-23) will travel to No. 4 St. Ambrose University (19-11).  During the regular season, the higher seeds swept both matches.

Those winners will move on to Saint Xavier and Governors State on Thursday at 6 pm.  Saint Xavier gets the St. Ambrose-Viterbo winner, while Governors State will host either Olivet Nazarene or Judson. 

The championship follows on Saturday at 1 pm at the site of the highest remaining seed.  The winner of that match heads to the NAIA National Tournament April 28-May 2 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

For the tournament bracket, go to Bracket.

The complete tournament schedule follows:

Tuesday, April 14 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 5 Viterbo (9-23) at No. 4 St. Ambrose (19-11) --- 6 pm CT
• Match #2: No. 6 Judson (10-19) at No. 3 Olivet Nazarene (15-13) --- 6 pm CT

Thursday, April 16 - Semifinal Round (at site of highest remaining seed)
• Match #3: Winner-Match #2 vs. No. 2 Governors State (18-10) --- 6 pm CT
• Match #4: Winner-Match #1 at No. 1 Saint Xavier (26-3) --- 6 pm CT

Saturday, April 18 – Championship (at site of highest remaining seed)
• Match #5: Winner-Match #3 vs. Winner-Match #4 --- 1 pm CT