Kansas City, Mo. –Saint Xavier University junior outside hitter Kayla Mullaney (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community) earned honorable mention recognition on the 2011 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America Team when the national office released the awards Monday as selected by the NAIA Volleyball All-America Selection Committee.  Mullaney led the Cougars with 394 kills and was also fourth on the team with 258 digs.  In addition, she joined senior libero Erin Sebo (Downers Grove, Ill./St. Scholastica/Downers Grove North), senior setter Ashley August (LaGrange Park, Ill./Lyons Township) and junior middle blocker Colleen O'Hara (Lemont, Ill./University of Iowa/Lemont) on the list of 2011 Daktronics-NAIA Volleyball Scholar-Athletes.  Student-athletes must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status in order qualify for the honor.      

CHICAGO – Junior middle blocker Colleen O'Hara (Lemont, Ill./University of Iowa/Lemont) finished the night with 17 kills and four total blocks (one solo, three assists), but the No. 2 seeded Saint Xavier University volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 3 seed Trinity Christian College (Ill.) Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2011 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Volleyball Tournament at the Shannon Center in Chicago.  The match went five exciting sets with the Cougars taking the first one, 25-15, but the Trolls answering right back with a 25-20 win in the second set.  SXU would again take the advantage with a 25-21 decision in the third set, but TCC would win the next two, 25-20 and 15-13, to claim the match.  The Trolls (32-8 overall) will advance to Saturday's tournament championship match, while the Cougars end their season with a 30-5 overall mark. 

Deerfield, Ill. - The Saint Xavier University volleyball team entered Tuesday night's road match with Trinity International University (Ill.) needing a victory to secure at least a share of its first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) regular season title since 2007 and only its second crown in the past decade.  The Cougars did just that taking the match in three sets 25-17, 25-18 and 25-9 in Deerfield, Ill., behind 10 kills and eight digs from junior outside hitter Kayla Mullaney (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community).  With Olivet Nazarene University also winning its CCAC finale against University of St. Francis (Ill.) Tuesday night, SXU will share the 2011 conference title with ONU with both teams boasting 11-1 league marks.