The (RV) AQ men's volleyball team added another entry to the rivalry book between Aquinas and Lourdes tonight (Mar. 26). Down 14-12 in the fifth set, AQ staved off defeat by rallying back to tie the set at 14-14. Lourdes would then go up 15-14 as the Saints would despond with a three-point rally to win the match 3-2. Aquinas won by set scores of 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, and 17-15. This is the first time Aquinas has traveled to play in the Ebeid Rec Center and came out with a victory. The Saints are now on a ten-match win streak with a 20-6 overall record and a 10-4 WHAC record.

The first set was tough for Aquinas as Lourdes would race out to an early lead and never let it go. AQ never managed to put together any runs and the Gray Wolves would pick up a dominant 25-16 set victory to start out the match.

The second set played much differently than the first set. AQ would take the early lead, followed by a run for Lourdes, followed by a run for Aquinas. The Saints would take an 11-9 lead after a kill from Julian Armendano, a kill from Matthew Richmond, an attacking error from Lourdes, and a kill from Darnell Eudoxie. This would be the turning point of the set as Lourdes would never quite be able to erase the deficit for the remainder of the set. AQ would answer a Lourdes run with a run of its own as the Saints would come out of the second set with a 25-20 victory.

The battle would heat up in the third set as neither side wanted to give in. Both sides would continue to go back-and-forth as the set was tied at 13 after a series of blocks from Aquinas. Shortly after, Lourdes would go on a 5-0 run to take a commanding 20-14 advantage. AQ would take a timeout in an attempt to salvage the set, but the effort would ultimately come up short. Lourdes would win the third set 25-22 and take an all-important 2-1 lead in the match.

With the match on the line, Aquinas refused to lay over. The set came down to the wire with neither team holding more than a three-point advantage throughout the set. With the score tied at 16, Joshua Boothroyd would pick up a big kill, followed by a block from Daniel De La Rosa and Boothroyd. This would tip the scales in favor of AQ as the visiting side was looking to close out the set. However, Lourdes would rally back and tie the set at 23-23. Boothroyd would come up with a huge kill and an uncharacteristic hitting error from Lourdes outside hitter, Jeff Lam, would give AQ a 25-23 victory.

In the fifth and final set, Aquinas would race out to take a commanding 5-1 lead early, appearing to be in control of the match. However, the Gray Wolves would immediately respond with a run of their own to tie the set at 6-6. The Saints still appeared to be in control of the set with an 11-9 advantage, but Lourdes would score five of the next six points to take a massive 14-12 lead. With the match on the line, history would repeat itself. Boothroyd would pick up a kill off of a huge swing and Jeff Lam would place an attack off target for a hitting error as the set would be tied at 14-14. Lourdes would go up 15-14 and, with the match on the line, Armendano would get a kill to tie the set at 15s. Robert Valerio and Eudoxie would get a big block to take a 16-15 advantage and Armendano would end the match on his terms with a big kill to end the match with a 17-15 fifth set victory.

The stats would be fairly balanced between the two sides as Aquinas would lead in hitting percentage (.271-.216), aces (8-6), and blocks (15-6). Lourdes would hold the advantage in kills (63-54), assists (59-51), and digs (60-52).

Armendano continues to impress with another 20+ kill performance on the season. Armendano finished the match with 21 kills (.255), two block assists, and eight digs.

On the other side, Boothroyd ended the match with 12 kills (.250), including several kills in big situations. He would also have two assists, four aces, a solo block, four block assists, and six digs, doing a bit of everything in the winning effort.

Richmond continued his impressive play with 45 assists in five sets. He would also pick up a career-high four kills, an ace, two block assists, and seven digs.

De La Rosa was an absolute menace at the net, adding nine block assists and a solo block to his stat line. He would also come out of the match with six kills (.385), an assist, and two digs.

AQ will return to action next weekend (April 1) for the WHAC tournament. Aquinas finished the season as the third seed and will be playing an all-important rematch against Lourdes. The Saints will be looking to keep their win streak alive with hopes of the national tournament on the line.