Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Aquinas men's volleyball team fought hard on Friday night but fell in straight sets (22-25, 18-25, 15-25) to Rio Grande. Despite moments of strong play, the Saints were unable to overcome the Red Storm's consistent attack.

Aquinas 0, Rio Grande 3 (22-25, 18-25, 15-25)

The opening set saw Rio Grande strike first, but a block from Alexander Rodriguez quickly halted their momentum as AQ trailed 2-1. Kills from Kapelie Moala and Jonathan Collins helped the Saints even the score at 4-4 before the Red Storm responded with a five-point run to build a 9-4 lead. Aquinas fought back with a three-point surge, capped by a kill from Connor Staats, closing the gap to 9-7. Staats continued to power the Saints' offense with three more kills, tying the set at 11-11. The teams traded points, but a late push by Rio Grande put them ahead 18-15. AQ rallied to even the score at 22-22, but the Red Storm claimed the final three points to secure a 25-22 win.

Aquinas came out strong in the second set, with Andrew Jones delivering the first kill, followed by another from Staats and a Rio Grande error to take an early 3-1 lead. The Red Storm countered with a run of their own, jumping ahead 7-5. Dominic Nelson fired off a service ace to trim the deficit to 11-8, but Rio Grande surged late to extend its lead to 22-15. Rodriguez added two kills, and Staats chipped in another, but the Saints couldn't close the gap, dropping the set 25-18.

The third set started with two quick points for Rio Grande before Moala responded with a kill to get AQ on the board at 2-1. The Red Storm found their rhythm, reeling off four straight points for a 6-1 lead before stretching the margin to 12-2. A kill from Zachary Nosky ended the run, and Staats and Rodriguez followed with kills to make it 14-5. Despite AQ's efforts, Rio Grande continued to control the tempo, maintaining a double-digit lead at 22-12. Staats landed an ace to bring the score to 22-13, but the Red Storm closed out the match with a 25-15 final set.
 

Mishawaka, Ind. – AQ continued their active weekend with a conference match-up with Bethel on Saturday (Feb. 15). The Saints split the opening and threatened a fifth-set contest, but were unable to secure the fourth set win.

Aquinas 1, Bethel 3

The conference contest saw the Pilots strike first and push out to a 5-1 lead. Only for AQ to turn the momentum and meet the hosts at 5-5. The contest continued its back and forth until the Saints forced a Bethel time-out with six straight points (13-9). 

BU regained its footing after the time out and brought the contest back level, but the Saints re-engaged their engines and stormed the remainder of the first 25-18.

The second set continued the give-and-take nature of the contest as both teams were evenly matched, following each run with their own. The Pilots managed to pull away at 20-14, then pieced the remainder of the set together 25-20. Splitting the opening sets of the match.

The tightrope continued as the greatest distance one team managed to outpace the other was a mere three points. The Pilots stood 23-20 away from taking their first set advantage of the evening. AQ fought but only managed to trade point-to-point until BU secured the third 25-22.

The Saints entered the fourth set with their backs to the wall and came out swinging with a 3-1 start. AQ kept pushing into the Pilots as they stepped further and further away, extending their lead to 9-3. A well-placed time-out allowed BU to regather and brought the contest back to heel at 10-9. 

The contest then returned to its tightrope fashion as the teams once again equaled one another, 22-22. BU punched in its three remaining points to secure the contest 3-1.

Up Next

The Saints will return to road play on Tuesday (Feb. 18) as they will head to Southfield, Michigan, for a conference matchup with Lawrence Tech.