The (RV) AQ Saints men's volleyball team is on fire as they picked up two huge upset wins today (Mar. 4). In the first match, Aquinas swept the #6 Missouri Baptist Spartans 3-0 by set scores of 26-24, 25-20, and 27-25. The second match was a thriller as AQ completed a comeback from 2-0 to win the match 3-2 in an exciting fifth set against the #14 Saint Xavier Cougars. The Saints picked up a revenge victory by set scores of 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, and 15-13. Aquinas is now on a five-match win streak and is 15-6 with a 6-4 WHAC record.

Match 1: (RV) Aquinas 3, #6 Missouri Baptist 0

The first match against Missouri Baptist started off with a quick 3-0 lead. The Spartans would quickly respond and tie the match at threes as the first set would remain extremely close. The two sides would continually trade the lead back-and-forth. The Spartans appeared to be in control of the first set with a 20-17 advantage, but Aquinas would rally back. A couple of attack errors, a pair of Kelsey Yogi aces, and a kill from Joshua Boothroyd would give Aquinas a 5-0 run. Missouri Baptist would rally back again and have a crucial set point opportunity with a 24-23 lead. However, it would be the Saints that would take the first set by a score of 26-24 after scoring three consecutive points.

The second set would be just as entertaining with Aquinas going on an early 8-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. Daniel De La Rosa would hold the serve for the entirety of the run as a slew of attacking errors from MBU and a pair of kills from Julian Armendano would give AQ an early advantage. Aquinas would need every one of those points as the number six team in the country would close the Aquinas lead to just one point with a 19-18 score line. Aquinas would survive the scare and proceed to win the second set 25-20. The Saints were now just one set away from pulling off a huge upset.

The third set kept the fans in attendance on their toes as each team began trading their own respective runs again. The lead would change a whopping eight times throughout the set as both teams looked to win the all-important third set. With the match on the line, Robert Valerio and De La Rosa would pick up three blocks at the end of the set to give AQ a late lead. Armendano would do what he does best and end the match with a thumping swing to give AQ a 27-25 set victory and a 3-0 sweep over Missouri Baptist.

Aquinas held the advantage in most statistical categories, leading in kills (38-34), hitting percentage (.244-.098), assists (37-31), blocks (8-6), and digs (35-27). The Spartans had more aces with six to Aquinas' four.

Armendano and Boothroyd were the driving force on offense for Aquinas. The two combined for 31 of the teams' 38 kills in the match. Additionally, the two combined for an assist and 18 digs in an incredible performance.

De La Rosa continued his mean-streak on defense as he continues to smack down everything at the net. He had six block assists and a solo block, good for four total blocks in three sets.

Matthew Richmond averaged over 11 assists per set with 34 in the match. He also had an ace, a block assist, and six digs.

Match 2: (RV) Aquinas 3, #14 Saint Xavier 2

The match appeared dire for the Saints after the first two sets. The Cougars would win the first set by a comfortable score of 25-18. In the next set, Aquinas held a lead over Saint Xavier for almost the entirety of the set. With a 21-19 advantage, AQ looked to be in the driver's seat of the second set. Unfortunately, a couple of errors from the Saints would bring the Cougars right back into the set and they would capitalize, winning the second set 25-23 in comeback fashion.

An early 10-6 lead in the third set for Saint Xavier gave the impression that the match might be over. Aquinas would take a timeout to regroup and head coach Michael Crane clearly said the right words in the huddle as the Saints would roar back and take a 11-10 lead. Aquinas was all over the Cougars after the timeout as they would race out to a commanding 20-14 advantage. SXU would make a bit of a rally, but kills from Darnell Eudoxie, Boothroyd, and Armendano would complete the third set victory with a score of 25-21.

The Saints were looking to tie the match at twos in the fourth set as Saint Xavier looked to end the match. Neither side would disappoint as both sides would exchange rallies. SXU took an early lead, but AQ quickly came back and took the lead for itself. The Saints would refuse to let go of that advantage as Boothroyd continued to play well and slam home a couple of big kills towards the end of the set. AQ would wrap up the fourth set with a score of 25-22 and tie the match at 2-2.

The combination of Armendano and Boothroyd would be the x-factor in the fifth set as the two would combine for six more kills. A huge block for Eudoxie and Richmond would give Aquinas a 10-8 advantage. That two-point lead would be enough for the Saints to close out the fifth set. Armendano, again, would place an exclamation mark on the match with the final kill of the match.

Saint Xavier actually held the edge in most statistical categories, leading in kills (53-48), hitting percentage (.254-.228), blocks (12-11), assists (48-45), and digs (34-32). AQ had one more block with seven to SXU's six.

Boothroyd was the team leader in kills for the match with 17 (.306). He would also add an assist, three aces, a solo block, two block assists, and four digs to the scoresheet.

Armendano was right behind him with 15 kills himself (.163). Outside of his offensive performance, he would pick up three assists, a solo block, and seven digs.

De La Rosa had another solid match himself, getting into double-digit kills with ten (.667). He also had five block assists, two digs, and an assist.

The Saints have a bit of a break until their next match with spring break on the horizon. AQ will be taking on Adrian again, this time on March 15 at 7:00 PM in the Sturrus Center. AQ will be looking to keep the momentum rolling coming off a five-match win streak featuring wins over the #5, #6, and #14 teams in the country.