The AQ men's volleyball squad traveled down to Goshen Indiana tonight (Feb. 16) to play the Maple Leaves for the second time this season. Aquinas beat Goshen 3-0 at home earlier this season and were looking for a similar result today. Aquinas was on track to pick up another win with a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set, however, Goshen took the fourth set and then went on a 9-0 run in the fifth set to win 3-2. Goshen won by set scores of 25-21, 18-25, 16-25, 25-20, and 15-7. Aquinas is now 8-4 on the year with a 4-4 WHAC record.
The first set was neck-and-neck as both teams traded point-for-point throughout the first set. With the score at 18-17, the Maple Leaves managed to string together a two-point run and a three-point run to close out the set. Goshen won by a set score of 25-21.
The second and third period went in favor of Aquinas as the Saints jumped out to early leads in each set. Aquinas won the second set by a score of 25-18 and jumped out to an early 14-5 lead in the third set. The Saints would close out the third set with a score of 25-16 for a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.
Goshen went on a 3-0 lead to start the fourth set, but Aquinas answered right back, tying the set at 3-3. The teams traded runs with Aquinas looking to close out the match with a 13-10 lead. However, Goshen clawed its way back into the set and took a 17-16 lead just a few points later. With the teams tied at 18, the Maple Leaves would go on a 5-0 run to all but seal the set. AQ would pick up a couple more points, but Goshen would win the set 25-20.
The fifth and final set started in favor of the Saints but became all Goshen. With a 7-6 lead in favor of Aquinas, Goshen would go on a 9-0 run to win the set 15-7. That run would give the Maple Leaves a 3-2 match win.
The teams were very balanced statistically, with Goshen leading in kills (59-56), aces (3-2), and blocks (12-6). Aquinas led in hitting percentage (.300-.259), assists (56-55), and digs (44-35).
Joshua Boothroyd and
Julian Armendano paved the way in kills, putting up 22 kills apiece. Boothroyd set a career-high in kills with his 22 kills on a .459 hitting percentage. He would also contribute an assist, an ace, a block assist, and six digs to the stat line. Armendano had a .341 hitting percentage, three assists, a block assist, and 11 digs in addition to his 22 kills.
Matthew Richmond played a majority of the match at setter, putting up 49 assists, a kill, two block assists, and nine digs.
Daniel De La Rosa had 1.5 total blocks, five kills, and an assist in the effort tonight.
Aquinas will be looking to get on track with a pair of road matches this weekend. The Saints will be taking on Trinity Christian on Friday (Feb. 18) at 8:00 PM and Olivet Nazarene on Saturday (Feb. 19) at 6:00 PM.
