Rio Grande, Ohio — The Aquinas men's volleyball team faced tough competition at the Rio Grande Invitational, dropping both matches against Rio Grande and Bluefield. Despite battling hard, the Saints were unable to overcome their opponents, falling short in both contests. The Saints finished off the invitational 1-3. 

Aquinas 1, Rio Grande 3 (21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25)

Rio Grande opened the match with a quick 3-0 lead, but a kill from Alexander Rodriguez halted their early momentum, putting the Saints on the board at 3-1. Aquinas responded with a three-point surge of its own, fueled by a kill from Kapelie Moala and a service ace from Jonathan Collins, cutting the deficit to 6-5. The Saints later tied the set at 13-13 after another three-point burst, highlighted by kills from Collins and Zachary Nosky. However, Rio Grande regained control with a late run, pulling ahead 17-14. Despite a final push from AQ, the Saints couldn't complete the comeback, dropping the first set 25-21.

The Saints found their rhythm in the second set, overcoming another quick start from Rio Grande. A three-point streak gave AQ its first lead of the match at 4-3, and they extended their advantage with a dominant six-point run, capped off by three consecutive kills from Connor Staats for a commanding 13-5 lead. Rio Grande responded with a surge of its own, tying the set at 17-17. Aquinas, however, stayed composed down the stretch, securing four crucial points, including a kill from Staats and a service ace from Dominic Nelson, to close out the set 25-22.

The back-and-forth battle continued into the third set, with AQ capitalizing on Red Storm errors to take an early 3-2 lead. A kill from Moala put the Saints ahead 6-5, but Rio Grande countered with three straight points to regain the edge at 8-6. The teams traded points in a tight contest until Rio Grande built a 15-10 advantage. A block from Moala and Nosky helped trim the deficit to two, but the Red Storm pulled away late, securing the set 25-20.

The fourth set mirrored the previous ones, with both teams trading early points to reach a 4-4 tie. A kill from Moala and a block from Staats and Nosky briefly put AQ back in front at 6-5, but Rio Grande quickly responded with a three-point run to take a 10-8 lead. The Saints kept pressing, with a service ace and kill from Andrew Jones narrowing the gap to 17-15. Despite AQ's efforts to apply pressure, Rio Grande held firm, closing out the set 25-21 to seal the match.

Aquinas 0, Bluefield 3 ( 21-25, 19-25, 25-13)

Collins opened the match with the first kill, but Bluefield responded with three quick points to take a 3-1 lead. Moala answered with back-to-back kills to even the set at 4-4. A kill from Staats, combined with a Rams' error, briefly put AQ ahead 9-8. Bluefield regained momentum, pulling ahead 14-11, but another kill from Moala trimmed the deficit to 15-14. The Saints continued to battle, with Staats adding two more kills and a service ace from Julian Fira closing the gap to 23-20. However, Aquinas couldn't come back, as Bluefield secured the first set 25-21.

Bluefield opened the second set with three straight points, but an error from the Rams and a kill from Staats brought AQ within one at 3-2. Bluefield then doubled the Saints' score at 8-4 before another kill from Staats ended the run, making it 8-5. The Rams continued to apply pressure, extending their lead to 17-10. Nosky responded with two kills to trim the deficit to 19-13, and a block from Rodriguez and Ryden Luedtke brought AQ within four at 20-16. However, the Saints couldn't keep up, as Bluefield closed out the set 25-19.

The Rams came out strong in the third set, surging to a 16-1 lead. Bluefield maintained its momentum, doubling up the Saints at 10-5 before a kill from Staats halted the run. Collins added another kill to bring AQ within five at 13-8, but the Rams quickly responded, extending their lead to 17-9. A four-point surge pushed Bluefield even further ahead at 21-10, and the Rams closed out the set, taking the final frame 25-13 to secure the match.

Up Next 

Aquinas will return to action on February 7th, traveling to face Judson in their next matchup.