Mount Vernon, Ohio – The number 14-ranked Aquinas men's volleyball team kicked off their season tonight (Jan. 27) with a road matchup against Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Aquinas dropped the first set by a close score of 26-24. The Cougars picked up another win in the second set to put AQ in a 2-0 hole. The Saints won set three, but couldn't force a fifth set. MVNU won the match 3-1 by set scores of 26-24, 25-17, 21-25, and 25-14.

Aquinas moves to 0-1 on the season with an 0-1 WHAC record.

AQ got off to a hot start with Leo-Paul Rousseau serving. The Saints jumped out to a 5-1 lead thanks to a 5-0 run that consisted of a kill from Joshua Boothroyd, a kill from Chase Gil, a block from Boothroyd and Gil, and an ace from Rousseau.

The two sides went on to battle back-and-forth until MVNU eventually closed the score gap, tying the match at 13-13. Aquinas responded with a small run and took the lead back, holding an 18-15 advantage late in the first set. Another 3-1 run that featured kills from Julian Armendano and Boothroyd gave the Saints a big 21-17 lead.

However, Mount Vernon immediately responded with a 3-0 run to close the deficit to just one point and force AQ to use its first timeout. Boothroyd picked up a huge kill after the timeout to take a 22-20 lead. The Cougars responded with two consecutive points to tie the set, but consecutive kills from Armendano gave AQ a 24-22 lead.

MVNU used a timeout in an attempt to salvage the set and accomplished just that. The Cougars took the next three points to claim their first lead since leading 1-0 at the beginning of the set. The Saints took a timeout, but a kill from Mount Vernon gave the home side a first set victory.

Mount Vernon started hot in the second set, racing out to a 6-2 lead after a 4-0 run. However, AQ immediately responded with a 4-0 run of its own to tie the match at six. The two sides proceeded to trade points with MVNU slowing growing its lead. A 3-0 run later on in the set gave the home team a 17-12 lead, forcing AQ to use its first timeout of the set.

AQ picked up a couple of points out of the timeout, but was unable to stop the Cougar's momentum. Mount Vernon Nazarene took the final four points of the second set to take a 25-17 second set victory.

The two sides battled it out in the third set with Aquinas needing a win to remain alive in the match. With Mount Vernon holding a slim 14-12 advantage, Armendano picked up consecutive kills to tie the match at 14 and force MVNU to use its first timeout of the set. AQ remained hot out of the timeout and increased its lead to four with the score at 21-17.

The Cougars looked primed for another late-set comeback as they took the next three points to decrease their deficit to just one point. The Saints used their second timeout of the set in an attempt to slow the momentum. The timeout did just that with AQ taking the next three points thanks to a couple of errors from Cougars and a block from Boothroyd. That all but sealed the deal as AQ took the third set by a score of 25-21.

Mount Vernon regrouped to start the fourth set and immediately raced out to a 10-3 lead. Aquinas got a bit of a rally going, taking the next four points and forcing a MVNU timeout. That would be the closest AQ got in the fourth set as the Cougars picked up seven of the next nine points. AQ was unable to get back into the set and dropped the fourth set 25-14 and giving the home team a 3-1 match victory.

The Cougars held the advantage in all statistical categories, leading in kills (48-42), hitting percentage (.245-.149), aces (5-3), blocks (10-6), assists (47-39), and digs (48-28).

Armendano picked up where he left off last season, leading the team in kills with 15 on the night. He also led the team in digs (7) and contributed an ace to the cause.

Boothroyd was right behind Armendano in kills with 13. In addition, Boothroyd had two assists, an ace, two block assists, and three digs.

Carter Sabo played well in his collegiate debut, tallying seven kills with a .267 hitting percentage while assisting four blocks.

Aquinas will be looking for redemption tomorrow night (Jan. 28) when it takes on MVNU again at 6:00 PM.