Phoenix, AZ- Just a few points from falling 3-0, Arizona Christian mounted a huge comeback and pulled off the 3-2 thrilling victory over Hope International on Saturday afternoon.  Senior Jackie Stein recorded a match high 21 kills while Freshman Marina Samaniego dished out 41 assists.

Match Info

• Match score: Arizona Christian - 3, Hope International - 2
  • Set 1: HIU 25-23
  • Set 2: HIU 25-13
  • Set 3: ACU 27-25
  • Set 4: ACU 25-16
  • Set 5: ACU 15-12
• Records: Arizona Christian- 5-5, 2-2 GSAC, Hope International- 7-9, 2-2 GSAC
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian – not ranked, Hope International – not ranked
• Location: Fultz Memorial Gym, Arizona Christian University, Phoenix, AZ

Stats For The Day

• Marina Samaniego - 41 assists, 18 digs, 3 service aces
• Jackie Stein - 21 kills, 14 digs
• Breanna Scott - 11 kills, 11 digs
• Tyler Gebhart - 11 kills, 4 blocks
• Amanda Bakonyi- 10 kills, 4 blocks
• Delaney Harris- 27 digs

Match Keys

• Down 21-13 in the third set, still down 23-19, and then facing match point 24-23, ACU closed out the set 4-1 for the win
• Tied 14-14 in the fourth, ACU outscored HIU 11-2 to force a fifth set
• Fifth set featured seven ties and two lead changes.  With HIU up 12-11, a Royal attack error and two kills from Breanna Scott sandwiched around a kill from Amanda Bakonyi saw ACU mount one more comeback for the match victory.

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe

"To come away with a win today is pretty amazing.  HIU came out with a lot of energy and put a lot of pressure on us right out of the gate.  Our girls showed tremendous resilience to fight back after being down 0-2 and down in the third.  They continued to work hard and turned the adversity into an opportunity by coming back and winning in five.  Each athlete played crucial roles in the outcome and our success from the service line really tipped the scales in the latter sets.  Very proud of girls to come out of this weekend 2-0.  Now we hit the road!"

Up Next

Next weekend, the Firestorm will make their GSAC Northern California road trip.  They start the trip at William Jessup on Friday for a 7:00 pm match.