Grand Rapids, Mich. – The AQ Saints women's volleyball team traveled across town tonight (Oct. 19) to take on #22 Cornerstone University for the second time this season. CU picked up a big 3-0 win the first time around. Aquinas was looking for a different result this time. The Saints were competing with the No. 22-ranked team over the course of the first set, but the Golden Eagles managed a 25-22 victory in set number one. A 25-18 win in set two and a 25-23 victory in set three would give Cornerstone its second sweep over the Saints this season.

AQ is now 8-19 on the season with a 4-9 WHAC record. Cornerstone improves to 23-3 with a perfect 14-0 WHAC record. This win was the 23rd consecutive win for the CU Golden Eagles, a feat that ties the program's all-time longest win streak.

The two sides battled back-and-forth early in the first set. CU took an early lead, but AQ immediately charged back and took an 8-7 lead of its own. The two teams continued to trade points with the score line at 14-14. However, a brief 3-0 run for Cornerstone would finally give the home team a little bit of breathing room. Just a few points later, AQ would get a 3-0 run of its own to tie the set at 20-20. Cornerstone would call timeout and it would immediately pay off as the Golden Eagles would score the next two points. The Saints would respond with a timeout of their own and Abbi Perkins would pick up the next point to narrow the deficit to just one.

Cornerstone would respond to that point with two points of its own to take a 24-21 advantage. The Saints would get one back, but a service error would end the first set 25-22.

The second set started, once again, very competitively. Both sides traded points as the two sides were at 11-11 early on. CU followed that up with back-to-back points and AQ would immediately score those two points back off a kill from Brooke Nicholson and a block from Nicholson and Claire Phillips. A few errors would get the best of the Saints as CU would go on to take nine of the next 11 points. Samee Teachworth would get a couple of kills, but the Cornerstone lead would prove to be too much to overcome. CU would take a 2-0 match lead and win the second set 25-18.

The Golden Eagles appeared to be in a position to run away with the third set after the home team took an early 7-2 advantage. CU would progress to a 12-7 advantage, but a 5-0 run from the Saints would tie the third set at 12-12. The Golden Eagles would reestablish the lead and, again, appeared to be in control of the set with an 18-15 advantage. Aquinas would take a timeout in an attempt to get back into the set.

The timeout would work wonders as AQ would take six of the next seven points to take a 21-19 lead. CU would take its first timeout of the set to attempt to stop the Aquinas momentum. The two sides would trade the next four points as AQ would maintain a 23-21 lead. Cornerstone would use its last timeout as a last-ditch effort to win the third set. That timeout would work as the Golden Eagles would take the next four points to win the set 25-23.

The two sides were very balanced statistically. Cornerstone had a higher hitting percentage (.268-.223), more aces (6-5), and more digs (41-35). AQ had more assists (36-34) and the two teams both had 39 kills and 6 blocks.

Both Nicholson and Jenna Lee had nine kills on the day, leading the team in kills. Nicholson also had four block assists while Lee had an assist, a dig, and hit for an impressive .467 hitting percentage.

Cassie Sustrich did a little bit of everything as the setter, posting 28 assists, three kills, two aces, a block assist, and four digs.

Aquinas returns to the court this Friday (Oct. 21) to take on Indiana Tech. The first serve is set for 7:00 PM inside of the Sturrus Center.