The Aquinas women's volleyball team topped Rochester in its 2021 season opener on Friday night (Jan. 29). The Saints defeated the Warriors in a four set match, notching their first win of the season, advancing to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in WHAC play. Aquinas took Rochester three sets to one by scores of 21-25, 25-20, 25-18, and 25-13.
 
After losing the first set, AQ battled back taking the next three sets from Rochester. This was the Warriors first match since mid-October, and after tonight they move to 2-6 overall and 0-5 in league play.
 
AQ outshined Rochester in kills (54-33) and assists (49-31). The Saints finished with a hitting percentage of .217 to that of only .068 for the Warriors. Despite having nine service errors, Aquinas also notched nine service aces on the night while Rochester only recorded six. 
 
Defensively, Aquinas tallied 50 digs and seven team blocks. The Warriors surpassed AQ in digs as they tallied 57 digs but only obtained four team blocks. 
 
The Saints were led offensively by junior Jackie Rozell who notched a match-high 16 kills for AQ and had a .225 hitting percentage. Rozell also tallied two blocks and added six digs. Emily Jones had a standout performance with 10 kills for the Saints, hit .273, and added two blocks. Senior Kylie Christensen added nine kills and hit .389 for the Saints.
 
Kali Crawford dished out 43 assists for the Saints and added four kills and eight digs. Senior Payton Klein tallied eight kills and hit for a .280 percentage and had 12 digs for AQ. Sam VanHouten notched 12 digs and Meredith Kraus added six kills and three blocks. 
 
Aquinas goes on the road tomorrow (Jan. 30) as they compete in Whiting, Indiana against Governors State at 2:00 p.m. ET and Calumet St. Joseph at 4:00 p.m. ET before returning home on Feb. 2nd to host crosstown rival Cornerstone.