Fort Wayne, Ind. – The (RV) Aquinas men's volleyball squad returned to the court this afternoon (Feb. 11) to take on the No. 13-ranked Indiana Tech Warriors. Aquinas suffered heartbreak last night (Feb. 10) after falling to No. 9-ranked Lourdes in five sets. Aquinas took down Indiana Tech last year at home to completely revitalize its season. AQ was looking for a similar momentum shift tonight and got just that. For the first time since 2020, the Saints marched into the Schaefer Center and picked up a huge win.

Aquinas picked up a thrilling win in five sets, winning by set scores of 29-27, 17-25, 23-25, 25-22, and 16-14. The Saints improve to 5-4 on the season with a 4-2 WHAC record. Indiana Tech falls to 4-5 with a 3-1 conference record.

The Saints treated their fans with another thrilling back-and-forth match similar to last night. IT started the first set with an 8-5 advantage, but a 3-0 run that featured an error from the Warriors and a pair of kills from Joshua Boothroyd quickly tied the set at eight. Following the tying point from Boothroyd, Indiana Tech began to build a lead, but another 3-0 run from AQ gave the Saints their first lead of the set with the score at 16-15.

Shortly after, a couple of errors from the Warriors and a pair of kills from Julian Armendano had the home team in a hole late in the set, trailing 20-16. IT used its first timeout of the match to regroup for the final stretch of the set.

Aquinas appeared to be primed to take the first set with a 23-19 advantage, but Indiana Tech came roaring back. A 3-0 run brought Tech within one point, but another kill from Armendano gave the Saints their 24th point of the set with a set-point opportunity. However, another 3-0 run from the home team not only negated the Saints' lead but gave Indiana Tech a set-point chance of its own.

This back-and-forth continued until the set was tied at 27. Two consecutive kills from Boothroyd gave Aquinas a much-needed 29-27 victory in the first set.

The next set didn't start as well for the visiting Saints as an 8-2 run for the Warriors put Aquinas behind early. IT increased its lead to nine with a 17-8 advantage just a few minutes later. AQ went on a small run, but the deficit was too much to overcome, giving Tech a 25-17 set victory and tying the match at one.

Set number three started similarly to the first set with the Warriors holding a slim advantage. Also, similarly to the first set, a 3-0 run that consisted of two errors from the Warriors and a kill from Chase Gil, gave the Saints the upper hand with a 14-12 lead. IT responded with a point, but the Saints went on to score five of the next seven points to increase their lead to 19-15.

History from the first set proceeded to repeat itself. AQ looked to be in control of the set with a 20-16 advantage, but Indiana Tech took the next five points to retake the lead and force Aquinas to use its first timeout. The Saints regrouped and a pair of kills from Armendano helped Aquinas retake the lead with the score at 23-22. However, the home side claimed the final three points of the set to take a 25-23 victory and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The two sides continued to trade runs heading into the fourth set. A 7-2 run for the Saints gave the visiting side its first lead of the set since early on with the score at 19-17. This run forced Indiana Tech to use its first timeout of the set.

Coming out of the timeout, Armendano continued to be the offensive catalyst with the pressure on. A slammed down two kills to give Aquinas a 22-19 advantage. However, once again, the Warriors rallied late to tie the set at 22 and force Michael Crane to use a timeout and slow down the momentum. This time, the timeout worked perfectly. A service error from the Warriors, followed by a kill from Boothroyd and another error from IT gave Aquinas an all-important fourth-set victory.

With the match on the line, Aquinas used the same rotation it used to win the fourth set at the beginning of the fifth set. This change helped give Aquinas an immediate 3-0 lead to start the set. However, Indiana Tech continued its trend of rallying back into the set. The Saints held a slim lead throughout the set with the Warriors right on their heels. IT finally tied the match at 11 and forced Aquinas to regroup with a timeout.

AQ scored the first point coming out of the timeout, but Tech scored the next two to take its first lead of the set. A service error from the home side tied the set at 13, but a huge swing from Daynte Stewart of Indiana Tech gave the Warriors a match-point opportunity. Crane used his final timeout of the match in an attempt to regroup the Saints.

With the match in the balance, Armendano hit an absolute rocket into the floor to tie the match at 14. The Saints took the following point with a nice block to give AQ a match-point opportunity of its own. After an incredible rally, Armendano finished the match with a swing down the baseline. The Saints took the final three points of the match to win the set 16-14.

Despite losing, Indiana Tech held the advantage in nearly all statistical categories. The Warriors led in kills (68-56), aces (5-0), blocks (10-7), assists (60-54), and digs (66-65). Aquinas had a slightly higher hitting percentage (.212-.210) and fewer errors (24-31), which may have proved to be the difference in the incredibly close matchup.

Armendano and Boothroyd continue to be offensive powerhouses for the Saints through the first nine games of the season. Armendano is currently tied for first in the NAIA with 166 kills on the year after posting another 21 kills (.259) today. He also had two assists, three block assists, and a team-leading 16 digs.

Boothroyd is currently fourth in the NAIA with 129 kills of his own after his 19 kill (.213) performance this afternoon. In addition, Boothroyd had one assist, one solo block, one block assist, and 10 digs.

Leo-Paul Rousseau continued his good run of form with 46 assists, two kills of his own, two block assists, and 15 digs.

The Saints are back on the road this upcoming Wednesday (Feb. 15) to take on Siena Heights. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM in Adrian, Michigan.