Phoenix, AZ- In their first match of the Firestorm Labor Day Invitational, Arizona Christian cruised past Belhaven (MS) in straight sets.  In the night cap, ACU dropped the first two sets before winning the next two but came up just short in the fifth and deciding set against Antelope Valley.

After surrendering the first point of the match, the Firestorm (4-2) used a service error, kill by Junior Jackie Stein, and block from Senior Toria Siemens to move ahead 3-1 and not look back in the set.  Like the opening set, ACU took a 3-1 lead in the second set.  However, the Blazers (0-2) tied the second set at 14-14 and 16-16.  A kill from Siemens, block by Senior Alli Lemnitzer, and a kill by Senior Hailey Carpenter pushed ACU up in the match for good as they did not surrender even a tie in the third set.

Stein topped with 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage against Belhaven.  Lemnitzer and Senior Debbie White both added seven kills.  Carpenter produced a line of 6 kills, 27 assists, and a team high 8 digs.

A match after committing just 14 errors against the Blazers, Arizona Christian produced 17 errors in the first two sets alone against the Pioneers (5-4) and therefore found themselves down 2-0.  On the strength of two kills and a service ace by Stein in the first five points of the third set, the Firestorm lead wire-to-wire to get back into the match.  In set four, five ties and three changes found ACU down 12-10.  But a 6-0 run put ACU in charge of the set.

In the fifth and final set, the Firestorm looked in control as they jumped out to a 6-1 edge. But UAV scored 14 of the next 21 points to turn away ACU.

The hitting star of the second match was Stein as she hammered out 24 kills to go along with 13 digs for good measure.  Junior Breanna Scott doubled up with 11 kills and a team high 15 digs.  Senior Kinsey Pease gave out 33 assists and earned 12 digs while playing only four of the five sets.

On Saturday, the Firestorm will look to close out their invitational in style as they try for wins against Benedictine (KS) and Life Pacific.  Their match with the Ravens is set for a first serve of 12:00 pm.