The (RV) AQ men's volleyball squad took on WHAC opponent Mount Vernon tonight (Feb. 5) in the Sturrus Center. AQ jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over the Cougars, but Mount Vernon started a rally in the third set. The Cougars would bring the match score to 2-1 before Aquinas would close out the match in the fourth set, earning a 3-1 victory. AQ won by set scores of 25-14, 25-15, 25-27, and 25-21. Aquinas is now 8-1 this season with a 5-1 WHAC record.

The Saints started the first set swinging, taking an early 9-0 lead. The Cougars would make a couple of runs in an attempt to narrow the deficit, but Joshua Boothroyd's three consecutive aces later in the set would all but seal a first set win. AQ would finish out the first set with a definitive 25-14 victory.

The second set would start out in a similar fashion with Aquinas jumping out to an early 6-0 lead. The Cougars, again, would make a series of small runs, but Aquinas blew up the deficit to eight points with a series of sets from Matthew Richmond, bringing the lead to 19-11. After a timeout from Mount Vernon, the Saints closed out the second set with a 25-15 win in the second set.

The third set started without a run from Aquinas, as both teams kept the scores close. With the score tied at 6-6, Boothroyd started another rally, picking up four consecutive points and forcing a Cougars timeout. Mount Vernon would quickly rally back and narrow the lead to one point. The set would remain within two points down to the very end. Each team began exchanging points with Mount Vernon ahead 24-23. The Cougars eventually managed to string two consecutive points together to win the set 27-25.

The fourth set started off with an early 2-0 lead for Mount Vernon. However, Julian Armendano picked up a kill and the Saints started a rally, winning the next five points. With a 5-2 Aquinas lead, Mount Vernon called a timeout. Similar to the last set, Mount Vernon squashed the building momentum for Aquinas and leveled the score. The teams would continue to go back-and-forth until AQ managed to begin to pull away with a 19-16 lead. Mount Vernon would use its second timeout in an attempt to stop the momentum again. However, Mount Vernon would be unsuccessful this time as Aquinas would close out the match with a 25-21 victory in the fourth set.

AQ topped MVNU in nearly all statistical categories, leading in kills (49-39), hitting percentage (.294-.093), assists (43-38), aces (7-4), and blocks (14-5). The teams each had 35 digs.

Julian Armendano and Joshua Boothroyd continued to be the deadly duo for Aquinas, picking up 16 (.275) kills and 13 (.333) kills, respectively. The two of them combined for seven aces, 12 digs, and 1.5 blocks.

Daniel De La Rosa was a menace for Aquinas defensively. De La Rosa picked up a whopping five total blocks and four digs. He also added seven kills to the winning effort.

Richmond and Leo-Paul Rousseau split setter duties tonight, contributing a total of 39 assists, a kill, eight digs, and a block assist.

Yogi had another great night as the libero, adding three aces and nine digs to the winning effort.

The team will be back on the court next Wednesday (Feb. 9) with a road matchup against Siena Heights. That match is set to begin at 7:00 PM.