Glendale, Ariz.- With rain falling outside, Arizona Christian brought the storm inside the Firestorm Recreation Center as they swept Hope International on Saturday.  The Firestorm delivered a season high for a three-set match in team kills (47) and hitting percentage (.236).

Match Info

• Match scores
  • Set 1: ACU 25-23
  • Set 2: ACU 25-23
  • Set 3: ACU 25-17
• Records: Arizona Christian - 8-13, 5-8 GSAC, Hope International - 5-16, 4-9 GSAC
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Hope International - not ranked
• Location: Firestorm Recreation Center, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

ACU Stats

• Katy Shockey- 12 kills, hit .321, 6 blocks
• Kaeleigh Gibson - 10 kills, 13 digs
• Brittnie Henige - 7 kills
• Krysta Petersen - 6 kills, hit .308
• Bailey Schlosser - 24 assists
• Nikole Lunsford - 15 digs
• Emma Combes - 12 digs

Inside The Box Score

• The first 22 points resulted in an 11-11 score with six ties and two lead changes
• Kills by Deni Jackson, Shockey, and Henige pushed ACU ahead for good in the set
• Shockey pounded out seven kills without an error in the set
• Set two was good to the last drop as the teams were tied 23 all
• Shockey and Petersen went back-to back on kills to close out the set
• The Royals hung around early in the third set as action played out to 10-9 ACU lead
• But Henige went to work as she had a kill and two blocks (solo and assist) as part of a 5-0 ACU run
• The Firestorm cruised to the final whistle
• ACU had 42 kills in their three-set win over Life Pacific on Friday- their previous season high
• The highest team hitting percentage this season (.243) came against Haskell- ACU's third match of the year

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe

"This was a great way to close out the weekend for us.  Offensively we had a great balanced effort with the team hitting .236% and eight players recording a kill. Our backrow did a phenomenal job playing defense and keeping us in system during serve receive.  We have a lot to work on this upcoming week before we hit the road for SoCal but for now our athletes can enjoy a much-deserved break!" 

Up Next

Next week the Firestorm will hit the road for the final time in the regular season as they head to the southernmost California GSAC schools.  On Friday, first serve against Vanguard from Calvary Chapel High School will come at 4:00 pm.