Rochester Hills, Mich. – The Saints took on the (2-11) Rochester Warriors for kick off WHAC conference play tonight (Sept. 14). Rochester nearly took the first set from AQ, but the Saints rallied back to win the set and proceeded to cruise through sets two and three to pick up their second sweep of the season. AQ won by set scores of 28-26, 25-17, and 25-17.

The Saints are now 4-10 on the season and boast an undefeated 1-0 conference record.

Rochester started off the first set with a slim lead, but the Saints immediately responded and took a lead of their own. The set remained neck-and-neck until the Warriors pulled ahead with a 4-0 run to take a 21-19 lead late in the set. The home side quickly turned that lead into three with a 23-20 score. However, the Saints refused to back down as Ryleigh Blough picked up a kill and a huge block assist with Samee Teachworth. Teachworth then followed that play with two huge kills of her own to give AQ a 24-23 advantage.

RU would pick up the next two points to take the lead back, but two straight errors from Rochester would give the lead right back to the Saints. Both sides traded points again, but it would be Brooke Nicholson to end the set with a big kill, giving Aquinas a 28-26 first set victory.

Set number two was all Aquinas as a 10-0 run gave the Saints an early 11-1 lead. The Warriors tried to claw back into the set, but the visiting Saints continued on with the momentum, winning the second set with a comfortable score of 25-17. The third set was much of the same as an early 10-2 advantage for Aquinas was an insurmountable deficit for the home side to overcome. The Saints would also win the third set 25-17 to sweep Rochester on the road.

AQ held the statistical advantage over RU in every category, leading in kills (37-25), hitting percentage (.178 - -.058), aces (7-5), digs (47-45), and total blocks (14-7).

Teachworth led the team in kills with nine on the night off of an impressive .316 hitting percentage. She also contributed seven digs, a solo block, and two block assists.

Nicholson had the most blocks on the team as she continues to be a menace at the net. She had a solo block and seven block assists in three sets. She was also tied with Abbi Perkins for second-most kills on the team with seven.

Jennifer Johnson had 15 digs over the three sets, averaging five digs per set.

Aquinas is back in action this Saturday (Sept. 17) as AQ takes on Lourdes on its home court. The homecoming match is set to start at 1:00 PM.