Adrian, Mich. — This past weekend, the Aquinas women's volleyball team endured a grueling exhibition of both physical and mental challenges — the kind of test that Coach Ryan Campbell believes will prepare his squad for the grind of WHAC conference play. The Saints responded in resounding fashion, going on the road and sweeping Siena Heights in three sets to secure their first WHAC victory of the season.

Aquinas 3, Siena Heights 0 (25–12, 28–26, 25–15)

Aquinas wasted little time seizing control of the match, putting together a dominant first set. Behind efficient attacking from middle hitters Nevaeh Bakker and Lauren Chioini, AQ stormed ahead early and never looked back, cruising to a 25–12 opening frame.

The second set proved to be the turning point of the night. Siena Heights regrouped and pushed the Saints to the limit, trading leads in a back-and-forth battle. With the score tied late, Aquinas relied on the steady play of setter Taylor Reha and the clutch swings of Cece Pelak to pull out a tense 28–26 win, giving AQ a commanding 2–0 lead.

In the third, Aquinas showed no signs of letting Siena Heights hang around. The Saints rattled off an early run and suffocated SHU's offense with strong net play, highlighted by blocks from Jeralyn Hoppes. A 25–15 win capped off the sweep and set the tone for conference play moving forward.

Bakker led all attackers with a blistering .615 hitting percentage on 10 kills, while Chioini nearly matched her efficiency, swinging .563 with 10 more kills. Pelak shouldered the largest workload with 29 attempts, tallying 11 kills to go along with 12.5 points. Reha orchestrated the offense with 31 assists and chipped in two service aces, keeping Siena Heights off balance throughout the night.

Defensively, libero Bella Hommes anchored the back row with a match-high 11 digs, while Hoppes added three block assists to disrupt Siena Heights' rhythm. Overall, Aquinas outhit Siena Heights .275 to just .063, showing both offensive firepower and defensive discipline.

Inside the Numbers

• Aquinas hit an impressive .545 in the opening set, compared to Siena Heights' .120.
• The Saints' trio of Bakker, Chioini, and Pelak combined for 31 of the team's 40 kills.
• Setter Taylor Reha averaged over 10 assists per set, finishing with 31 total.
• Siena Heights committed 22 attack errors to Aquinas' 15, swinging the momentum heavily AQ's way.
• Aquinas held a 53–33 advantage in total points scored.

Coaches Comment

After the challenging weekend, Coach Ryan Campbell praised the way his team took care of business on Wednesday evening. "I'm really proud of how efficiently we played, especially with our middles. Our defense stepped up, and that allowed us to create strong point runs in the first and third sets. It was a great team effort, and I'm excited to see us keep building and improving."

Up Next

It's out of the frying pan and into the fryer for AQ as they co-host, alongside Cornerstone, a weekend tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Saints will face Olivet Nazarene (3:00 PM) and Cumberland (7:00 PM) on Friday, before returning Saturday to play Lindsey Wilson (1:00 PM) and Trinity Christian (3:00 PM). All matches are scheduled to stream on AQSaints.com, with a backup stream available on YouTube via @AQAthleticsNet, if needed, Joey Sutherlin will have the call on three of the four matches. Fans are encouraged to visit AQSaints.com throughout the weekend for live stats, stories, and recaps.