The AQ men's volleyball team plated its second home match of the season tonight (Jan. 26) against the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils. The Saints came out strong and LTU had no answers for them, picking up yet another 3-0 sweep this season. This is the third-straight sweep for Aquinas and the fourth in six matches. After winning by set scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-21, AQ is now 6-0 on the year with a 2-0 WHAC conference record.
The first set started off with Aquinas taking an early lead and gradually expanding that lead until they had a comfortable 15-8 advantage over the Blue Devils. Lawrence Tech would go on a couple of runs, but they would not be able to catch up to the Saints. Aquinas would win the first set by a score of 25-18.
Julian Armendano had an impressive seven kills with a .667 hitting percentage in the first set.
LTU came out much more aggressively in the second set, and they were rewarded for the change of pace. The set was much closer with both teams level at 15-15 midway through the set. The teams would continue to go back-and-forth with the Blue Devils holding an 18-17 lead. However, AQ would proceed to score six of the next seven points. That swing would take Aquinas over the top, winning the second set by a score of 25-20.
The Saints would hold the advantage for the entirety of the third set, leading 24-17 at match point. LTU would go on a four-point run to make the set interesting, causing Aquinas to take a timeout. However, AQ would finish off the match coming out of the timeout, winning the third and final set by a score of 25-21.
AQ once again held the advantage in all statistical categories, leading in kills (48-31), hitting percentage (.420-.288), assists (47-29), aces (8-2), digs (29-22), and blocks (4-2).
Armendano continued his stellar start to the season with another 16 kills in three sets, boasting a .565 hitting percentage. He did a little bit of everything tonight, also contributing an assist, four aces, two digs, and a block assist.
Joshua Boothroyd and Daniel De Le Rosa were the other two major contributors on offense, picking up eight kills (.333) and seven kills (.500), respectively. De La Rosa also had three aces to add to his stat line.
Matthew Richmond got the start at setter again and he did extremely well. Richmond had 40 assists, averaging over 13 assists per set. He also had three digs and three block assists.
Kelsey Yogi had a solid match defensively, picking up 13 digs to his growing seasonal total.
AQ will be back in action this weekend with a road match against Indiana Tech on Saturday (Jan. 29). The match is set to begin at 7:00 PM.
