Grand Rapids, Mich. – The (RV) Aquinas College women's volleyball team kicked off their season with a pair of 3-0 wins. The Saints pulled off a dominant sweep against Olivet Nazarene in the first match before going to win another three consecutive sets in the nightcap against Huntington. Mallory Keller led the team in kills over both matches, including an incredible 22 kills over three sets in the Huntington sweep. Keller tied the all-time Aquinas record for the most kills in three sets while also setting her career high.

AQ's hot start puts itself at 2-0 to start the season after the Saints were ranked as the top team in the WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll back on August 7th.

Aquinas 3, Olivet Nazarene 0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-12)

A series of errors from the Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) Tigers had the Saints ahead 8-1 early. AQ never let go of the gas pedal, recording several massive runs to pull off a massive lead, taking the first set 25-9.

That first-set momentum carried over into the next set as kills from Lauren Chioini and Madison Lawson helped push Aquinas to a 9-3 advantage. ONU responded with a four-point run before the two sides began trading points. The two teams traded 11 consecutive points with Aquinas maintaining a 20-14 lead. Kills from Lawson, Keller, and Samee Teachworth gave the Saints set point once again, allowing a service ace from Chloe Hogarth to secure a 2-0 match lead.

Olivet Nazarene mustered two of the first three points in the third set, but a seven-point Aquinas run had ONU reeling once again. The Tigers managed to cut the deficit to just three points, but another AQ run that included a trio of kills from Jenna Lee had the visitors down 18-10. ONU responded with a pair of points, but six consecutive kills from a combination of Keller, Lawson, and Chioini led to a match point. A massive block from Keller and Chioini secured AQ's first win of the season by way of the sweep.

By the Numbers

• Aquinas dominated the stat line, leading in kills (37-16), hitting percentage (.419 - -.080), aces (8-5), blocks (9-2), assists (37-16), and digs (32-23).
• This is the second consecutive season that AQ has swept its first opponent (Aquinas swept Hope International in 2023).
• AQ's team hitting percentage of .419 was its highest since August 30, 2023, when the Saints posted a .450 percentage against Defiance.
• Keller put down almost everything she swung at, finishing the match with a match-high 12 kills on a .478 hitting percentage. She also had one ace, two block assists, and seven digs.
• Lydia Harper posted 32 assists for an average of 10.67 assists per set.
• Bella Hommes cracked double-digit digs in her first match as the AQ libero with 10 digs.

Aquinas 3, Huntington 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-22)

The nightcap was far more competitive as the Huntington University (HU) Foresters jumped out to an early lead. Keller put down the first two kills of the match for the Saints before consecutive kills from Teachworth several points later tied the set at eight. However, a run of three points from the visitors had AQ trailing by a slim margin once again.

Huntington held onto its lead throughout a majority of the set, leading by as much as four with a 20-16 advantage. AQ head coach, Ryan Campbell, called a timeout to regroup following HU's 20th point and the team rallied. Keller went on a tear, slamming down four of AQ's next five points to pull the Saints within just one point and force a Huntington timeout. Chioini tied the set at 22 on the ensuing point before Harper picked up a kill to give the Saints their first lead of the match.

A series of two errors had the set at 24-23 before Huntington committed a service error to complete the AQ comeback in front of a load home crowd.

The first-set comeback sparked a shift in momentum going into the second set as Aquinas came out hot. The home side rushed out to an 11-3 advantage, leaving Huntington in the rear-view mirror. Keller continued to be unstoppable, scoring AQ's next five kills on the way to an 18-11 lead. The Foresters had few answers for the Saints' offense, as Aquinas picked up a 25-17 second set victory.

Aquinas appeared to have another sweep locked down after opening with a 9-3 run. However, the visitors rallied with a run of their own to cut the deficit to just a single point. Kills from Keller, Teachworth, and Harper helped reestablish an Aquinas lead, but HU came back with another run of its own to reduce the difference to an 18-17 score.

Keller continued to respond whenever Huntington scored with three consecutive kills following an HU point. With the score at 22-21, Chioini found herself a kill before a block from Chioini and Keller gave the Saints match point. The Foresters staved off a sweep for one point, but Chioini put down another kill to give AQ six consecutive set victories on opening day.

By the Numbers

• The final set scores were closer than the box score would indicate, as the Saints held massive advantages across the stat line once again. AQ led in kills (49-27), hitting percentage (.224 - .104), aces (5-1), blocks (4-2), assists (47-24), and digs (57-45).
• The Saints improved to 6-3 against the Foresters since 2011.
• Keller ended the second match with an incredible 22 kills and a .442 hitting percentage, averaging 7.33 kills per set and tying the all-time Aquinas record for the most kills in three sets. She now has 34 kills with a .455 hitting percentage over her first two matches as a Saint.
• Three Saints hit double-digit digs as Hommes (19), Lee (10), and Keller (10) all played strong defense.
• Harper assisted another 40 kills while also picking up six kills of her own while recording two aces and six digs.
• In total, seven Saints picked up kills in the sweep.

Up Next

Aquinas has a busy weekend ahead of itself with four matches down in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Saints will take on (RV) Marian and No. 16-ranked Indiana University-Kokomo on Friday (Aug. 23). AQ will then face off against (RV) Talladega and Grace College on Saturday (Aug. 24) for a tough four-match stretch.