Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Saints were coming off the heels of another five-set victory earlier this week against Lawrence Tech. AQ was looking to take that momentum into tonight's match against the Saint Mary of the Woods (SMTW) Pomeroys. The Saints did just that as they beat SMTW in four sets by set scores of 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20.
 
Aquinas improves to 12-12 this season with an 11-6 WHAC record. As of tonight, Aquinas remains in fourth place in the WHAC standings. SMTW falls to 3-23 on the season with a 0-13 conference record.
 
Carter Sabo and Chase Gil picked up the first two points of the match to give AQ a quick 2-1 advantage in the first set. Another kill from Sabo, an ace from Gage Dinges, and several errors from the Pomeroys quickly grew the Aquinas lead to 11-5.
 
Sabo continued to be the primary offensive catalyst in the first set as he picked up two more kills to maintain AQ's momentum. Kills from Joshua Boothroyd and Gil put the Saints ahead 20-14. Saint Mary of the Woods couldn't establish a foothold in the set and Sabo's fifth kill of the set gave AQ a 25-18 victory in the first set.
 
The second set began much closer as the two teams split the first 14 points to tie the set at seven early on. A 4-0 run that featured a Gil kill, a Boothroyd ace, a kill from Tristan De Pooter, and a block from Gil and De Pooter gave AQ an 11-7 advantage.
 
SMTW began to erase the deficit, but a six-point run from AQ gave the home side a commanding 18-11 advantage. The Pomeroys couldn't slow down the Saints' momentum and another Gil kill ended the second set 25-19 in favor of Aquinas. Ernesto Lopez earned his second kill of the season with AQ's 22nd point of the set.
 
Boothroyd, Joseph Koss, Scott Hopkins, Sabo, and Lopez all got in on the scoring to begin the third set as AQ held a slim 5-4 advantage. On the ensuing point, Lamonte Dixson earned his first career kill to start a 3-0 run for the Saints.
 
Saint Mary of the Woods responded with a 3-0 run of its own, but AQ came back with a four-point run that featured kills from Gil and Sabo, along with a pair of aces from Leo-Paul Rousseau.
 
The two sides continued trading points as AQ slowly built a lead. Another kill from Koss gave AQ a 17-11 lead. Following that point, SMTW began to claw its way back into the set and they only trailed by one with the score at 21-20. A service error from the Pomeroys and a kill from Sabo gave AQ a 23-20 advantage.
 
Aquinas appeared to be in control of the set, but a five-point run from the visitors stole the third set from the Saints. Saint Mary of the Woods won the set 25-23.
 
SMTW kept the momentum rolling into the fourth set and jumped out in front 7-5. AQ responded with a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead and force a timeout from the Pomeroy bench.
 
Coming out of the timeout, a pair of Gil kills and a series of errors from the visiting side helped AQ grow its lead to 15-10. However, a 6-1 run from Saint Mary of the Woods erased the lead and forced AQ to use its first timeout of the set.
 
The timeout worked as intended as Julian Armendano and Boothroyd began to take over the match. The two combined for AQ's next five points to put the Saints back ahead. Another Rousseau ace put the Saints out in front 22-18. SMTW picked up a couple of points, but three straight errors from the Pomeroys ended the set 25-20 in favor of the Saints.
 
Statistically, the Saints led in most categories, leading in kills (42-29), hitting percentage (.194-.032) assists (39-29), and digs (33-26). The Pomeroys held the advantage in aces (9-8) and blocks (13-7).
 
Boothroyd ended the match with a team-leading 10 kills in addition to his one ace, seven digs, one solo block, and one block assist.
 
Sabo finished the night with nine kills (.412) and two block assists.
 
Gil picked up eight kills throughout the match on 11 attacks with zero errors for an impressive .727 hitting percentage. He also had one dig, one solo block, and two block assists.
 
The Saints are right back at it tomorrow afternoon with another match against Saint Mary of the Woods. Aquinas will be honoring its seniors tomorrow for Senior Day before the match begins at 3:00 PM in the Sturrus Center.