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Women's Volleyball 12/5/2024 5:15:00 PM Kennadie Minerich, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Saints Battle Hard but Fall to Yotes in Four-Set Showdown

Women's Volleyball 12/5/2024 5:15:00 PM Kennadie Minerich, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Saints Battle Hard but Fall to Yotes in Four-Set Showdown

Box Score

Sioux City, Iowa – The No. 11 Aquinas women's volleyball team began pool play at the NAIA National Tournament's final site today (Dec. 5), facing the College of Idaho. Despite a valiant effort, the Saints fell in a four-set match, marking only their second loss of the season and bringing their record to 40-2.

Aquinas 1, College of Idaho 3

Jenna Lee started the Saints off strong with two service aces, sparking a 4-0 lead over the College of Idaho (CI). AQ extended their advantage to 8-2 with kills from Mallory Keller and an ace from Lydia Harper. Additional kills from Lee and Keller doubled the lead to 14-7. Samee Teachworth added a kill, and Lee delivered another ace, pushing the score to 17-9. The Coyotes (Yotes) responded with a four-point run, narrowing the gap to 22-18, but Teachworth's solo block and Harper's kill secured a 25-20 first set victory for AQ.

The Yotes struck first in the second set, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead over the Saints. Back-to-back kills from Chioini and Lee brought the Saints within one, narrowing the deficit to 6-5. However, the College of Idaho responded with a four-point run to extend their lead to 9-3. Kills from Chioini and Keller helped AQ close the gap to 15-14, but the Yotes delivered three blocks on Aquinas' attacks to pull ahead 19-14. A late three-point run sealed the set for the Yotes, who claimed a 25-17 victory.

The Yotes once again jumped to an early lead, going up 5-2 over the Saints. Kills from Lee and Keller trimmed the deficit to 8-5. Teachworth contributed two kills, and a block from Chioini and Keller brought the score to 12-9, still in favor of the College of Idaho. Despite extended rallies, the Yotes maintained their momentum, pushing their lead to 16-10. After an Aquinas timeout, CI claimed the next four points, doubling their lead to 20-10. Keller and Chioini managed a kill each, but the Yotes closed with four consecutive points to secure the set 25-13.

Aquinas rallied early in the fourth set, with Michelle Domey delivering a powerful kill to put the Saints up 1-0. The Yotes answered with two points, but a kill from Reagan Doctor ended their run and tied the set at 2-2. CI began to pull ahead, but a key block from Chioini and Keller, followed by a service ace from Julia Schweihofer, restored the Saints' lead at 7-5. The Yotes briefly took a two-point advantage, but back-to-back kills from Chioini leveled the score at 11-11. However, the College of Idaho found their rhythm, pulling ahead to 20-12. Lee delivered a kill to halt the Yotes' run temporarily, but the Saints couldn't recover, and CI claimed the set and the match with a 25-18 win.

By the Numbers