Area roundup: St. Xavier men’s volleyball is national runner-up

It was a huge weekend for St. Xavier athletics.

The men’s volleyball team finished second in the nation.

The baseball team won the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament.

And the softball team pulled off a dramatic CCAC Tournament semifinal win to stay alive for a national bid, although the championship game was suspended by rain.

The volleyball team, ranked second in the nation by the NAIA coaches all season and the national runner-up last year, lost 28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 25-19 to The Master’s of California, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation all season, on May 3 at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Cougars (31-1) were led by Matt Pennala’s 20 kills as he broke the program’s single-season record with 395. He also had eight assists, eight digs three blocks and two aces.

Riverside-Brookfield grad Vejas Cuplinskas closed out his career with 12 kills.

The Master’s (27-0) was led by Isaac Seltzer’s 11 kills while NAIA Player of the Year Braden Van Groningen added eight.

The Cougars baseball team (31-22) was seeded third in the CCAC Tournament but beat Judson 6-0 on May 3 at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.

Three pitchers combined for the shutout for the Cougars, while Tahlor Steig had two doubles and Travis Hammond had two runs and two stolen bases.

The Cougars qualified for the NAIA Opening-Round Tournament, which begins on May 12. The time, location and opponent had not been determined as of May 4.

The softball team (35-6 and ranked 18th in the nation) trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning against St. Ambrose. But the Cougars came up with nine runs and hung on for a 9-6 CCAC Tournament semifinal win on May 3 at the Crown Point Sportsplex in Indiana. 

Shepard grad Taylor Becker had a three-run double in the rally.

The two teams met again in the championship game of the double-elimination tournament on May 4 and were tied 3-3 in the top of the second when the game was suspended.

More Stagg champs in esports

Stagg continues to enjoy state championship success in esports.

Since the IHSA first sanctioned eports in 2022, the Chargers have won three state championships in team events and three state titles in individual events.

That included bringing home a pair of titles on May 3 at the state tournament, held at Evergreen Park for the third year in a row. 

Stagg won the Mario Kart 8 division, 123-111 over Normal West.

Members of the team are Kalina Bell, Jakub Gagestad, Jack Gawel, Christos Giapitzoglou, Adrian Gorski, Nikolas Kounavis and Mattew Oddie.

Individually, Stagg’s Ryan McNulty beat Minooka’s Chuck Purracchio 63-14 in the Madden competition.

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