BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – In a battle between the two teams atop the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) standings, the Olivet Nazarene University men's volleyball team came up short against Saint Xavier, falling 25-16, 25-18, 19-25, 25-21 to the league-leading Cougars.

The Tigers couldn't keep pace in the opening two sets as Saint Xavier (19-4, 11-1 CCAC), who came in at No. 11 in the latest edition of the NAIA top-25 Coaches' Poll, put down 25 kills and just eight hitting errors in grabbing a 2-0 lead.

Things turned around in the third, with Tomas Gonzalez putting away a pair of service aces to put the Tigers up in the set's opening serve.

Leading 11-9, the Tigers put together a three-point run. Jake Ostema and Sterling Staranchuk hammered down kills and Tyler Rickert notched a service ace to give ONU a five-point lead. ONU would hold on to claim the third set 25-19.

The Tigers carried their momentum into the early stages of the fourth. And when Jackson Harvey and Kahaku Marquez teamed up for a block, the Tigers led 9-7.

After Saint Xavier erased the deficit, the two squads went point-for-point over the next 12 points. The Tigers took the lead six times during the stretch, but the Cougars consistently had the answer to keep the game knotted up.

Tied at 15-15, ONU broke away for a three-point run to take control of the set. But that was when Saint Xavier finally found their rhythm at the net to pull away, scoring 10 of the last 13 points of the match to take the win.

Thoralf Schmelzer led the Tigers with 11 kills. Marquez put down nine, and Ostema had eight. James Ballance led the defensive effort with a game-high 15 digs.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will close out CCAC play with a road match against Trinity Christian on Thursday, March 23. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. CST.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu