The Aquinas men's volleyball team overcame a 2-1 deficit on Saturday evening (Feb. 6) at Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) to take the fourth and fifth sets and earn a thrilling 3-2 victory. AQ won the first and fourth sets before notching a 15-9 win in the fifth set to even its WHAC record at 2-2 on the year.
 
It was the first meeting between Aquinas and the Cougars, who are a first-year WHAC affiliate in men's volleyball. The final line score on Saturday saw the Saints prevail by scores of 25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 25-22, and 15-9. With the triumph, AQ is 2-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference action, while Mount Vernon Nazarene drops to 1-3 overall and 1-3 in the WHAC.
 
Despite holding a slim 50-47 advantage in kills, Aquinas (with a .161 hitting percentage) was much more efficient than the Cougars (.071). Mount Vernon Nazarene committed 36 hitting errors to just 26 for AQ. The Saints dominated at the net, with a 16-8 advantage in blocks, while MVNU held a slim 66-63 edge in digs and a 6-3 mark in aces.
 
Julian Armendano and Gavin Jonker each recorded 14 kills and Armendano completed his double-double with 10 digs and three blocks. Jonker hit .346 on his 26 attempts and added seven digs. Robert Valerio supplied seven kills and three blocks.
 
Daniel Littleton totaled six kills, seven digs, and four blocks, while Sean Kelley put away five kills in 11 attempts. Leo-Paul Rousseau handed out 31 assists to go with six digs and two aces, while Matthew Richmond passed for 11 assists. Josh Evers picked up 16 digs and Kelsey Yogi added nine digs. 
 
After the teams split the first four sets, the decisive fifth frame was tied at 4-4. AQ then scored five straight points, starting with an Armendano kill and ending with a solo rejection from Matthew Glass for a 9-4 advantage. The Saints stayed in front at 12-6 off of Yogi's lone kill of the match and clinched the come-from-behind victory on an Armendano putaway.
 
Aquinas is back in action on Tuesday (Feb. 9) at home against Siena Heights at 7:00 p.m. Coincidentally, Saturday's victory was the first 3-2 win for Aquinas since Jan. 22, 2020 when the Saints defeated Siena Heights in a five-set battle.