The Aquinas men's volleyball team notched its seventh consecutive win on Wednesday night (Mar. 16) with a 3-0 home victory over crosstown rival Cornerstone in the Sturrus Center. AQ used straight set scores of 25-20, 25-15, and 25-23 to capture its eighth sweep of the year.
 
The victory pushes AQ to 17-6 on the season and 7-4 in the WHAC. It is the second win for the Saints against Cornerstone this year, including a 3-2 road victory on Jan. 31. The Golden Eagles drop to 10-17 overall and 1-10 in conference play.
 
Aquinas' current seven-match winning streak began with a 3-1 victory over #5 Indiana Tech on Feb. 26. The Saints have three sweeps during this stretch and have only been taken to five sets once in the last three weeks.
 
While the teams were similar offensively on the stat sheet – AQ hit .289 with 34 kills, while Cornerstone tallied a .208 mark and 31 kills – but the Saints were the dominant serving team. Aquinas recorded 14 aces, while CU notched just four service aces. AQ also held advantages in assists (33-29), digs (28-23), and blocks (4-3) in the victory.
 
Julian Armendano again led the Saints offensively, posting 16 kills and just four errors on 30 swings for a strong .400 hitting percentage. He added six of the Saints' 14 aces. Joshua Boothroyd put down kills on half of his swings – eight kills in 16 attempts – and Daniel De La Rosa tallied three kills, two aces, and a pair of blocks. De La Rosa and Matthew Glass recorded AQ's two solo rejections.
 
Kelsey Yogi picked up a match-high nine digs, while Matthew Richmond passed for 26 assists and totaled five digs and an ace. Daniel Soliz was one of seven Saints to serve an ace, as he posted two aces and three digs, while Daniel Austin chipped in four digs and an ace. Chase Gil supplied two kills in four swings and added a block assist.
 
Aquinas built a 19-9 lead in the opening set and although Cornerstone closed to within four points at 24-20, a Boothroyd kill finished the stanza. The Saints pulled away midway through the second set and closed the frame with a combined block between De La Rosa and Philip Tubman.

CU held a 23-21 edge late in the third set, which prompted an Aquinas timeout. From there, the Saints scored four straight points and finished the match with a Glass solo block and Armendano's 16th and final kill of the night.
 
AQ heads to Ohio on Saturday (Mar. 19) at 3:00 p.m. to take on Mount Vernon Nazarene. The Saints defeated the Cougars 3-1 in the Sturrus Center on Feb. 5.