St. Xavier volleyball player Vejas Cuplinskas was granted a fifth year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
He accepted the extra season because he thinks the Cougars can win the NAIA national championship this year.
“It’s the whole reason why I came back,” he said.
The communications major and outside hitter from Riverside-Brookfield and his teammates have good reason to think it can happen.
The Cougars entered this week with a 24-0 record and are ranked second in the nation in the coaches’ poll. Last year, they were the surprise of NAIA with a second-place finish in the national tournament.
This year, the hunters have become the hunted.
“It’s interesting because in years prior, in high school, college and club I’ve always been on a team that’s been the underdog,” Cuplinskas said. “This is the highest-ranking team I’ve been on.
“It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the court, they are going to bring their ‘A’ game. They could be the 30th-ranked team or the 40th-ranked team. They all want a piece of us. It’s their Super Bowl. It’s always a challenge.”
Through the team’s 24 matches, Cuplinskas played in 35 sets and racked up 60 kills, 18 digs and 23 blocks.
He has witnessed the team go 23-4, 26-11, 23-5 and 23-9 in his first four years before this monster season.
“It’s been a good progression,” he said. “This year, every position is filled out. Every year, we keep adding a key player at each position and the roster is finally full. So, it’s exciting to see and we don’t have to rely on one position or one person to score all the points.”
Last season, the Cougars reached the national championship game and lost 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10 to Georgetown (Ky.), coached by former Brother Rice standout Jim Dwyer.
“It felt really good,” Cuplinskas said of the finish. “We had been going to the national tournament for a couple of times now. But two years ago, we actually won a match at nationals. Last year, we caused some upsets and got out of pool play and ultimately lost to Georgetown.
“We could have made it all the way, but we shot ourselves in the foot with our serving performance.”
The Master’s of California has been ranked ahead of the Cougars all season.
The regular season is winding down and the CCAC Tournament starts April 15. The NAIA tournament starts on April 29 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Strand stars for SXU
Former Evergreen Park standout softball pitcher Lily Strand, a transfer from Division I Saint Louis, has been a key to St. Xavier’s 23-6 start and No. 19 ranking in the nation.
In her first 16 appearances, Strand was 9-4 with three saves, 10 complete games and a 2.57 ERA. On April 5, she struck out a college career-high nine in seven innings in an 11-5 win over Calumet College of St. Joseph in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference game in Chicago.
SXU retains Cal Sag Cup
St. Xavier’s men’s golf team defeated Trinity Christian 4-2 in match play at Nettle Creek in Morris on April 5 to retain the Cal Sag Cup.
Winners for the Cougars were Lincoln Chizmark, Talon Hawk, Joey Glennonand Patrick Glavin.
The Trolls had wins from Richard Serpa and Yanis Toinard.
SXU leads the all-time series 2-1.