Lima, Ohio – The Aquinas College men's volleyball team took the court on day two of the weekend looking to redeem themselves after tough conference matchups. The Saints connected with the ball more efficiently and competed as a more cohesive unit throughout the night. While the final score did not reflect the outcome AQ was hoping for, the Saints continued to grow and remained competitive across four tightly contested sets against Defiance College.
Aquinas 1, Defiance 3
(25-22, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23)
Braylon Amos and Jayden Sturdevant kicked off the scoring for the Saints, taking a quick 2–1 lead. Amos, Sturdevant, and Brock Hoffman combined for early kills to push AQ ahead 5–3. The Yellow Jackets tied the set at 6–6, but a kill from Ryden Luedtke and a later block from Hoffman kept the Saints in front at 10–6.
Andrew Jones added a kill before Defiance strung together five straight points to take a 20–15 advantage. Kills from Hoffman and Jonathan Collins brought Aquinas back within striking distance, but the Saints couldn't overcome the deficit and fell 25–22.
Coming out strong in the second set, the Saints built a 7–2 lead behind kills from Sturdevant and a service ace from Jones. The Yellow Jackets slowly chipped away, but a kill from Alexander Rodriguez held AQ in front at 10–8.
The teams found themselves tied at 14–14 before Defiance claimed a 20–16 edge. Amos recorded a kill, and back-to-back blocks from Luedtke and Rodriguez forced a Defiance timeout with the score at 20–19. Once again, the Saints battled late but dropped the set 25–23.
Set three opened with a kill from Amos, but Defiance answered with a six-point run before Garrett Anderson stopped the stretch at 6–2. Zachary Nosky and Jones delivered timely kills to bring AQ within two, and an attack error by the Yellow Jackets tightened the score to 8–7.
Aquinas surged ahead 14–10 before Defiance briefly regained the lead. Kills from Rodriguez and Sturdevant put AQ back on top 19–17. With the teams tied at 19–19, a Defiance attack error and a Rodriguez block gave the Saints a 21–19 edge. Andrew Sliwinski sealed the 25–22 third-set victory with a kill to force a fourth set.
Kills from Nosky and Sliwinski set the tone early as the teams traded points to a 5–4 score. The set remained back-and-forth throughout, with two Sturdevant kills giving AQ a 16–15 lead. Momentum shifted as Defiance moved ahead 19–16.
A block from Amos and Sliwinski brought the Saints within two, and back-to-back kills from Jones tied the set at 20–20. Another block from Rodriguez and Luedtke gave AQ a brief 23–22 advantage, but the Yellow Jackets closed the match with a 25–23 win.
Coaches Comment
"We took a positive step forward tonight," said head coach Michael Crane. "Our connection and communication were better, and we competed for every point. We're still chasing consistency in key moments, but the fight and growth this group showed is something we can build on moving forward."
By the Numbers
Up Next
The Saints return to the road March 4 to take on Rochester Christian University for the second time this season. AQ will hit the court at 7:00 p.m. looking to secure another conference win.
