Surprise, Ariz.- Playing for the first time in the 2024 season in the state of Arizona, Arizona Christian and Carroll went back and forth exchanging points and sets on Thursday.  ACU won the kills battle but lost the match in five.  Hailery Reynolds went for 21 kills- her ACU career best and the ACU season high.

Match Info

• Set scores
  • Set 1: CC 25, ACU 21
  • Set 2: ACU 25, CC 20
  • Set 3: CC 25, ACU 21
  • Set 4: ACU 25, C 22
  • Set 5: CC 15, ACU8
• Records: Arizona Christian - 5-4, Carroll - 7-1
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian, Carroll - not ranked
• Location: Faith Arena, OUAZ, Surprise, AZ

ACU Stats

• Reynolds - 21 kills, hit .318
• Krysta Petersen - 12 kills
• Sydney Brown - 9 kills, 15 digs (ACU career high)
• Emmi Jacobus - 7 kills, 9 blocks
• Becca Thomson - 24 assists, 15 digs
• Caitlin Chan - 18 assists, 13 digs
• Nikole Lunsford - 24 digs (ACU season high)
• Trinity Weidinger - 11 digs, 5 service aces

Inside The Box Score

• ACU jumped out to a 4-1 lead (Reynolds kill, Weidinger ace)
• But the Saints countered with a 7-0 run to grab control of the set
• Set two saw the Firestorm open with a 3-0 edge as Jacobus and Haley Tedrow combined for back-to-back blocks
• The Firestorm stayed ahead for the rest of the set which included ACU being up 17-7
• Reynolds unloaded five kills in the set
• Ties and lead changes were the storyline of the third set
• A kill from Reynolds locked up the set at 21-21
• But Carroll took the last four points
• Another seesaw of lead changes and ties best describes the fourth set
• Behind 22-20, ACU tallied the final five points for the set win
• Two kills from Reynolds (seven in the set) sandwiched around a kill from Madison Van Wie and an ace by Chan highlighted the run
• Petersen put away a kill to tie the fifth set at 1-1
• However, the Saints went ahead from there for the remainder of the match
• ACU won the kills matchup 58-54 but lost the errors battle but 15 (38-23)

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe
"We did some great things out on the court today and I am proud of our effort.  We were facing a tough team, who put a lot of offensive pressure on us, but our team responded well.  We served tough throughout the match and this opened up opportunities for our blockers to score.  Reynolds played lights out this afternoon, as well, leading the charge offensively.  As we learn to limit our unforced errors as a team, we will continue to find success on the floor.  Tomorrow will bring a new opportunity to work on this. " 

Up Next
On Friday, Arizona Christian will be back at OUAZ to go head-to-head with Montana State-Northern at 8:00 am.