The Aquinas women's volleyball team stayed unbeaten on the road this year, moving to a perfect 5-0 in true road contests with a 3-1 victory at Concordia on Saturday (Sept. 30). AQ took the first two sets and closed out the match with a dominant fourth set to clinch its fourth consecutive win.

Aquinas triumphed by set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 16-25, and 25-14. Coupled with the 3-2 victory at Madonna on Friday night, the Saints are now 19-4 on the season and 8-1 in WHAC play. The Cardinals fall to 12-8 overall and 3-6 in league contests.

Several Aquinas players stuffed the stat sheet on Saturday. Setter Lydia Harper dished out 51 assists and helped four players reach nine or more kills in the contest. Samee Teachworth led the way with 15 kills and hit .313, while Lauren Chioini put down 14 kills in just 20 attempts for a sparkling .600 hitting percentage.

Abbi Perkins followed her 19-kill performance on Friday with 11 more putaways on Saturday. Jenna Lee contributed nine kills with only one error for a .444 attack clip. 

Defensively, Jordyn Carlyle picked up a remarkable 25 digs in just four sets, while adding three service aces. Chloe Hogarth posted 12 digs and a pair of aces, while Cece Pelak chipped in five digs, four kills, and two aces. Teachworth and Harper each had three blocks assists; Peyton Goschka added seven digs.

Concordia was in control for most of the first set, eventually leading 21-14. The Saints responded with a huge 7-0 run, which featured consecutive Carlyle aces and a combined Chioini-Harper rejection to tie the score at 21-all. Tied again at 24-24, Chioini put down a kill and the Cardinals committed a hitting error to give AQ the big 26-24 win.

The Saints were in front 16-8 until CUAA came roaring back and pulled within two at 17-15. Concordia was as close as 20-19 before Lee posted back-to-back kills to give AQ a little breathing room. Three final kills from Chioini, Perkins, and Lee helped Aquinas go ahead 2-0 in the contest. The Saints notched 21 kills and hit .459 in the second set.

AQ was within a point at 14-13 in the third set, but Concorida ran away with an 11-3 run to force a fourth set. In the fourth, the teams were tied at 9-9 before Aquinas broke things open with a huge seven-point run. Lee, Chioini, and Perkins all notched kills and Harper served an ace to give the visitors the 16-9 advantage. The Saints closed the match by scoring the final four points, including a match-ending combined rejection from Teachworth and Harper.

Overall, Aquinas held a slim lead in kills (58-55) and hit .263 to CUAA's .231 clip. The Cardinals managed more digs (67-64), but AQ was in front on aces (9-4) and total blocks (7-2).

The Saints continue their road swing with a Wednesday night (Oct. 4) matchup at Lawrence Tech. It is AQ's last road match before returning home for four consecutive home contests, beginning on Oct. 13.