A top-10 matchup on Friday night (Jan. 17) in Chicago lived up to its billing, as the #6 Aquinas men's volleyball team dropped its first match of the season, falling to #8 Saint Xavier by a 3-2 score. The Saints won the first and fourth sets before SXU scored the final two points of the match to prevail with the 15-13 victory.
 
Aquinas went a perfect 3-0 last weekend at the Michigan Men's Volleyball Invitational, but faced its first major test of the 2020 season in a true road match against a fellow top-10 opponent. It was Saint Xavier's season opener as the Cougars move to 1-0, while AQ falls to 3-1 on the year.
 
SXU was better on the offensive end, totaling a 56-38 edge in kills and hitting .185 to AQ's .120 attack clip. Both teams recorded 10 total blocks, while the Saints held a 47-45 edge in digs. There were a combined 50 service errors, with Aquinas tallying 20 miscues and Saint Xavier posting a staggering 30 service errors.
 
Zane Moothart led all players with 17 kills, hit .279, and added 10 digs and two blocks. Both Ruben Lopez and Joshua Boothroyd delivered eight kills apiece, with Boothroyd also totaling 11 digs and an ace. 
 
Will Donald provided five kills and five total blocks, while Colby Elder handed out 34 assists to go with five digs, three block assists, and an ace. Josh Evers picked up a team-high 14 digs and Robert Valerio put up four total rejections.
 
AQ took its first lead of set one at 21-20 and after Saint Xavier tied the set at 21-all, the Saints responded with back-to-back points and four of the final five points, ending with a Moothart kill for the 25-22 win. Saint Xavier evened the match with a 25-20 win in set two, scoring seven of the last nine points after the teams were tied at 18-18.
 
The third stanza was tied at points 18, 19, and 20, when the Cougars jumped in front in the match by winning 25-22 as a pair of late kills clinched the win. For the fourth consecutive set, the teams were tied at 18-18, but the Saints scored four straight points and used a Donald solo rejection and a Donald-Moothart combined block to jump in front 23-19. A pair of SXU errors gave Aquinas the 25-21 win and forced a pivotal fifth set.
 
Saint Xavier started with a 6-2 run in the fifth frame, but AQ chipped away at the deficit and tied the score at 9-9 after consecutive kills from Moothart and Boothroyd. The Saints led 10-9 after a Cougar error and the score would be tied again at points 11, 12, and 13. From there, SXU used a kill and an Aquinas error to earn the hard-fought, back-and-forth victory.
 
AQ begins WHAC play on Wednesday night (Jan. 22) at 7:30 p.m. at Siena Heights. The teams played just five days ago in Grand Rapids, with Aquinas earning a 3-0 sweep.