Butte, Mont. – Arizona Christian University Women's Volleyball started the 2026 season Friday at the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge, splitting a pair of matches on opening day. The Firestorm dropped their opener to Montana State-Northern before bouncing back with a strong performance against Northwest (WA).
Match One: Montana State-Northern
Arizona Christian came out firing against Montana State-Northern, hitting .382 in the opening set on the way to a 25-21 victory.
The Lights responded in the final three sets, winning 25-19, 25-14 and 25-18 to take the match. ACU struggled offensively after the opening frame, with 32 of its 36 hitting errors coming over the final three sets.
Zuri Reeser led the Firestorm with 13 kills, while
Madison Sherby added 12 kills and 11 digs.
Lily Barrett notched six kiils.
Addison Bowie recorded 18 assists and
Becca Thomson finished with 15 assists.
Kiah Lerma contributed 12 digs.
Match Two: Northwest (WA)
The Firestorm responded in their second match of the day against Northwest, earning a victory in a tightly contested match.
The Eagles scored the opening point of the first set, marking the only time ACU trailed during the first two sets. The Firestorm controlled the early portions of the match before Northwest battled back in the third set.
With ACU trailing 17-15 in the third, Reeser came through with back-to-back kills to put the Firestorm in front. Arizona Christian then closed the match strong, scoring seven of the final nine points to secure the win.
Reeser turned in another standout performance with 13 kills and 16 digs.
Madison Van Wie added eight kills, while
Haley Kootstra recorded four kills while hitting .444. Sherby contributed four kills.
Thomson finished with 14 assists and eight digs, while Bowie added 13 assists. Lerma led the Firestorm with 18 kills.
On Saturday, Arizona Christian will continue play at the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge by facing the host Montana Tech at 8:00 am (AZ time) followed by a 12:00 pm match with Indiana South Bend.
