Viterbo Completes Double Sweep In Women's Volleyball
LA CROSSE, Wis. --- For the second year in a row, NAIA No. 16-ranked Viterbo University swept through both the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball regular season and postseason, capturing the latter title on Saturday afternoon with its 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-14 victory over No. 3 seed Saint Xavier University.
SXU (18-10) put the hosts on notice in Set 1 and most of Set 2. Trailing 18-16 in the first game, the Cougars ran off the next six points and then the final three to gain a 1-0 advantage.
Saint Xavier also led 12-7 in the second set before Viterbo put up 12 of the next 15 points to open up a 19-15 advantage. The Cougars, however, would not go away, tying the score at 19-all thanks to three kills from Samantha Hovey.
SXU eventually went up 23-22 before Jada Mitchell took things into her own hands for Viterbo. She registered two kills among the final three points, enabling the V-Hawks to rally for the 25-23 Set 2 win.
Sets 3 and 4 took on similar looks in the early going with the two teams playing to identical 10-10 ties. Viterbo produced the next four points in Set 3 and the Cougars could never get back even the rest of the game. They did get within one twice and trailed 24-22 when Mitchell sealed the set with her kill.
In Set 4, the V-Hawks pulled away by going on a 10-2 run following the 10-all deadlock. The win was the 10th in a row overall and the 38th against conference foes since Viterbo joined the league one year ago.
Three different V-Hawks totaled ten-plus kills, led by Sadie Treptow's 13 against just one error in 31 chances (.387 attack pct.). Makena Ihle contributed another 11, while Mitchell totaled 10 kills and seven blocks. Jalen Hinzman also recorded seven blocks as part of a 14-block afternoon for Viterbo.
Other contributors included Maddie Connor (30 assists, 3 aces) and Resse Germann (29 digs).
For Saint Xavier, Hovey produced 21 assists and 11 kills, with Carrington Smith collecting ten kills and four blocks. Avanna Martinez provided 28 digs.
Both teams now advance to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round next weekend by virtue of Viterbo's two titles and SXU's runner-up finish in the tournament. Sites will be announced on Monday.
The tournament results follow:
Tuesday, November 11 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 1 Viterbo def. No. 8 Indiana Northwest 25-11, 25-9, 25-15
• Match #2: No. 4 Trinity Christian def. No. 5 Governors State 25-16, 18-25, 21-25, 25-14, 15-12
• Match #3: No. 2 St. Francis def. No. 7 Indiana South Bend 25-14, 18-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-9
• Match #4: No. 3 Saint Xavier def. No. 6 Olivet Nazarene 25-22, 25-18, 17-25, 25-13
Thursday, November 13 - Semifinal Round
• Match #5: No. 1 Viterbo def. No. 4 Trinity Christian 25-16, 25-14, 22-25, 26-24
• Match #6: No. 3 Saint Xavier def. No. 2 St. Francis 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9
Saturday, November 15 – Championship
• Match #7: No. 1 Viterbo def. No. 3 Saint Xavier 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-14