Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Take a breath, Saints fans. Look around. Let this one sink in. Seasons like this deserve more than a quick glance at the scoreboard, and Aquinas women's volleyball keeps giving the Maroon and White reasons to stop and appreciate the ride. Wednesday, Oct. 7, brought a program-best No. 6 national ranking, conference honors for Cece Pelak and Natalie West, a national award for West and two more opportunities to show why the Saints have earned all that attention. Six sets later, Aquinas had two more sweeps, contributions from across the roster and another WHAC victory tucked away. What a day to be a Saint.
No. 6 Aquinas 3, Kuyper 0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-10)
Match 1 — Saints' Depth Takes Center Stage
The 4 p.m. opener gave the Saints an opportunity to showcase just how much talent is working behind this remarkable season. Aquinas answered with a balanced sweep of Kuyper, hitting .375 while collecting 35 kills and 17 service aces. Audrey Gil led the attack with nine kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Tess Griffith followed with eight kills on 12 swings, good for a .417 mark.
Kyla Charles directed the offense with 22 assists while adding two kills, three aces, five digs and two blocks. Sarah Curtis supplied six aces and a team-high six digs, making her presence felt well beyond the service line. Soniah Robinson contributed five kills and five aces, giving the Saints another source of pressure in both phases.
Griffith opened the match with a kill, and Aquinas never trailed in the first set. With the Saints leading 8-5, Curtis took over at the service line and helped stretch the advantage to 16-5. Her eight-point serving run included four aces, while Robinson and Charles added kills during the surge. Griffith later delivered two kills during a four-point burst that carried AQ to set point before the Saints finished the opener, 25-12.
Kuyper grabbed an early 5-3 advantage in the second set, but Robinson quickly changed the conversation. Three consecutive Robinson aces powered a six-point AQ run that turned the deficit into a 9-5 lead. Curtis then guided another six-point serving stretch, with Olivia Dennis contributing two kills as the Saints pushed ahead, 16-6. Dennis finished the match with four kills, while Savannah Byker added three kills on five attempts. Byker delivered the final two points of the second set with back-to-back kills to secure the 25-10 victory.
In the third, Alexa Eden's six-point serving run helped expand a 9-4 lead to 15-4, with Curtis and Jeanette Desser contributing kills and Desser teaming with Charles for a block. Charles followed with two consecutive aces during another four-point run, while Gil supplied three kills in that stretch. Briley Andres added five digs and an ace, Katelyn Orlowski chipped in two digs and an assist, and Eden finished with an ace, an assist and two digs. Gil put away the match's final point off an Orlowski assist, closing a 25-10 third set and a performance that gave plenty of Saints their moment.
No. 6 Aquinas 3, Madonna 0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-11)
Match 2 — Maroon and White Mean Business
The evening WHAC matchup brought Madonna to the court, and the Saints wasted little time establishing the tone. Aquinas swept the Crusaders while allowing just 33 points across three sets. The Saints combined a .299 hitting percentage with 13 aces and 10 team blocks, keeping Madonna under pressure from the opening rotation.
Pelak led AQ with eight kills and added 10 digs and two aces. Kaylyn Tuck contributed seven kills and four block assists, giving the Saints production at the net on both sides of the ball. West finished with 24 assists, five kills on eight error-free swings, four aces, five digs and two block assists.
Aquinas built a 7-4 first-set lead before Sophie Munch's serving run helped turn separation into command. Munch delivered two aces during a five-point stretch that pushed the Saints ahead, 12-4. West then fired three consecutive aces to extend the advantage to 18-6. Nevaeh Bakker supplied the final two kills of the set, completing a 25-9 opening statement. AQ hit .357 in the frame and committed just two attack errors.
Madonna found an early foothold in the second set, taking a 4-2 lead before the Saints responded. Jayla Martin's kill and two Crusaders attack errors put Aquinas back in front, 5-4. Blocks from Tuck and Bakker, followed by West and Bakker, helped the Saints build an 8-5 advantage. Pelak kept the offense moving with five kills before AQ reached a 16-8 lead.
Madonna trimmed the margin to 16-12, but the Saints' response was immediate and emphatic. Following a Crusaders service error, Pelak served seven consecutive points as Aquinas surged to a 24-12 advantage. The run featured a Pelak ace and kill, a Tuck kill and two more AQ blocks, with Martin involved in both. Tuck finished the set with a kill off a Kami Morse assist, securing the 25-13 win.
Kate Schneider stepped forward in the third set, recording all four of her kills in the closing frame. Sarah Curtis helped the Saints stretch a 9-5 lead to 12-5 from the service line, with Pelak adding a kill and West and Bakker combining for another block. Morse later delivered three consecutive aces during a five-point serving run that took Aquinas from 19-10 to 24-10. Bakker closed the match with a kill from West, finishing the 25-11 third set and another WHAC sweep.
Morse anchored the defense with 14 digs and five assists, while Martin finished with seven block assists and Schneider added four block assists to her error-free .500 hitting performance. Brooke Price supplied three assists, Munch finished with three aces and three digs, Alexa Eden added an ace, Olivia Dennis contributed a dig, and Curtis recorded two digs as Audrey Gil also saw action in the sweep.
Records and National Picture
Aquinas finished the doubleheader at 27-1 overall and 9-0 in the WHAC, while Madonna moved to 7-11 overall and 4-5 in conference play.
And the national picture? It keeps getting better.
The Saints stand No. 6 in the NAIA Top 25, the highest ranking in program history. Aquinas also sits sixth in the RPI, first in the North bracket of the ARC ratings and fifth in the latest Massey ratings. Different measures, same message: the Saints have earned a place among the country's best.
The latest NAIA ranking also puts Aquinas in select conference company. AQ joins Madonna, which reached the top six twice, and Cornerstone as the only WHAC programs to crack that tier.
Conference Honors, National Recognition
Before the Saints added two more wins Wednesday, Pelak and West had already given Aquinas plenty to celebrate.
Pelak earned WHAC Attacker of the Week honors following a week that included her school-record-tying 30-kill performance against Spring Arbor. West earned WHAC Setter of the Week recognition for the second consecutive week, continuing her role at the center of the Saints' offense.
Then the recognition reached the national stage.
West was named NAIA Setter of the Week, bringing national attention to the playmaking that has helped power Aquinas through this outstanding season. Conference honors for two Saints. A national award for West. And two more sweeps to finish the day.
That is a pretty good Wednesday.
Saints Snapshots
- The ranking rose. The response followed. On the day Aquinas reached a program-best No. 6 nationally, the Saints backed it up with six straight set victories.
- Depth had its day. Gil, Griffith, Charles, Curtis and Robinson helped lead the opener, showcasing the work and talent throughout Campbell's roster.
- Pressure traveled from one match to the next. AQ delivered 30 aces across the doubleheader, repeatedly turning service opportunities into decisive runs.
- The net belonged to the Maroon and White. Martin helped lead a 10-block effort against Madonna, with Tuck, Schneider, Bakker and West all contributing to the wall.
- The destination stays the same. The rankings and awards recognize what Aquinas has accomplished, but the Saints' work remains centered on improving together and pursuing a long run in the battle for the red banner.
Coach's Comments
For Head Coach Ryan Campbell, the recognition provides a reason to celebrate, but the team's goals demand continued work. The Saints have built an exceptional record, yet Campbell wants his squad approaching every opponent with respect and every practice with a purpose.
"This team has earned the recognition it is receiving, and we should enjoy that, but winning does not mean we have everything figured out," Campbell said. "I truly believe that on any given night, anybody we face can beat us. We have to keep working hard, finding ways to improve and coming together as a team.
"The rankings and the team and individual awards are great, but they have never been our finish line. Our focus has been, and always will be, putting ourselves in position to make a long run at the NAIA national tournament and compete for that red banner. That takes more than talent or a number next to our name. It takes a team committed to getting better every day."
Up Next
The Saints have a light practice Thursday before another busy stretch on the road.
Aquinas travels to UM-Dearborn for a 7 p.m. WHAC match-up Friday, Oct. 9, against the Wolverines. The Saints then visit Kalamazoo College for a 1 p.m. non-conference contest Saturday, Oct. 10, against the Hornets.
Be sure to visit AQSaints.com for live statistics, streaming links and complete postgame coverage of Aquinas women's volleyball and all other Saints sports.
It's a great day to be a Saint.
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