The (RV) AQ men's volleyball squad continues to find ways to win as they completed a comeback against Mount Vernon Nazarene this afternoon (Mar. 19). The two sides traded sets throughout the match, but Aquinas would be the ones to come out on top after winning by set scores of 21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19, and 15-11. Matthew Richmond would set a career high in assists with 53 and a personal best in digs with 17. The Saints are now on an eight-match win streak with an overall record of 18-6 and a WHAC record of 8-4.

The underdog Cougars jumped out to an early lead in the first set and never let their foot off the gas. MVNU would take a 13-9 lead over AQ before a Daniel De La Rosa ace and a pair of errors from the cougars would narrow the lead to just one point. The two sides would continue to battle back and forth with Aquinas eventually taking a late 18-17 advantage. That would not deter Mount Vernon, as they would go on to score eight of the next 11 points to win the first set 25-21.

The second set would play similarly to the first set with both sides keeping the set close. MVNU would hold a 12-9 edge over AQ early on in the set, but the Saints would come back to take the lead with a 15-14 score. The set would come down to the wire with both sides tied at 20-20. The Cougars appeared to be in position to take a commanding 2-0 match lead as they would take a late 23-21 advantage. However, a kill from De La Rosa, a block from Darnell Eudoxie and Robert Valerio, a kill from Valerio, and a kill from Julian Armendano would give Aquinas the 4-0 run the team desperately needed to tie the match at 1-1.

Set number three would be all Mount Vernon as they quickly raced out to a 7-2 lead. AQ would diminish that lead down to just one point, but the Cougars would race out ahead again. The Saints would never get any momentum going and Mount Vernon would comfortably take the third set by a score of 25-17.

For the first time this match, Aquinas would be the team to go up early, taking a 10-6 lead over the Cougars early on. Armendano would take over early in the fourth set with four kills. Aquinas would hold onto its lead in an attempt to bring the match into the fifth and final set. Joshua Boothroyd would pick up four kills of his own down the stretch to take Aquinas over the top. Armendano would finish the fourth set with a massive kill as Aquinas would win the fourth set 25-19.

De La Rosa started the fifth set with a kill and a block assist to give AQ an early 2-1 advantage. The match appeared to be coming down to the wire with Aquinas holding a slim 9-7 lead. However, Aquinas would run away with the set and take a commanding 14-8 lead over the Cougars. MVNU would go on a small 3-0 run before a kill from Boothroyd would end the Mount Vernon upset attempt. AQ would win the match 3-2.

AQ would hold the statistical edge in most categories, leading in kills (58-51), hitting percentage (.281-.210), assists (56-49), aces (5-3), and digs (62-56). The Cougars would have a couple more blocks, leading 10-8 in that category.

Richmond would have the best match of the season, as he would set a career high in assists (53) and digs (17). Additionally, he would contribute two kills on two attempts in the winning effort.

Armendano was the team leader in kills with 18 kills (.182). He would also add one assist, two service aces, four block assists, and five digs to his stat line.

Boothroyd would pick up 13 kills (.219) of his own, along with an assist, two aces, one block assist, and eight digs.

Valerio would have his best match of the season with 11 kills (.419), an assist, two block assists, and four digs. De La Rosa would have a solid match himself with ten kills (.353), an ace, three block assists, and four digs.

The Saints have their final home match of the season this upcoming Wednesday (Mar. 23) against (RV) Siena Heights. The match is set to begin at 7:00 PM in the Sturrus Center.