Glendale, Ariz.- On Friday night, Arizona Christian came out clicking on all cylinders in the first set as the Firestorm hit .382 to claim the set win.  But they came up short in the final three sets.

Match Info

• Match scores
  • Set 1: ACU 25-22
  • Set 2: OUAZ 25-20
  • Set 3: OUAZ 25-10
  • Set 4: OUAZ 25-19
• Records: Arizona Christian - 7-18, 0-12 GSAC, OUAZ - 14-11, 5-7 GSAC
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - not ranked, OUAZ - not ranked
• Location: Firestorm Recreation Center, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

ACU Stats

• Kaeleigh Gibson- 12 kills, 12 digs
• Faith Baar- 10 kills
• Hailey Reynolds- 7 kills
• Caitlin Chan- 19 assists
• Becca Thomson - 15 assists, 8 digs
• Nikole Lunsford - 16 digs
• Trinity Weidinger - 9 digs

Inside The Box Score

• The first 24 points of the match played through lead changes and ties including at 12-12
• Baar delivered a kill and then a block with Emmi Jacobus to give ACU a 14-12 edge
• Set one was not tied the rest of the way
• Baar topped ACU with five first set kills
• A block by Gibson and Haley Duncan gave ACU an 4-3 lead in the second set
• Following Gibson service ace, the Firestorm were up 10-7 and ultimately 12-10 
• But the Spirit won the next five points to grab the lead for good in the set 
• Set three started with a solo block by Duncan before OUAZ countered with a 7-0 run
• After falling behind to start the fourth set, a service ace by Thomson brought ACU within one at 11-10
• Unfortunately, the Spirit remained in front until the end

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe
"Our team came out strong with lots of energy in set one and helped get us out on the right foot. Unfortunately, we were not able to maintain that momentum.  Kaeleigh did a great job on the night being a consistent two way player for us with her double-double.  At the end of the day you just cannot make as many errors as we did and expect to win.  We needed to make better decisions on offense while on the net and from the service line.  We get to choose how we will respond to tonight's result.  We are going to focus on our controllables and find ways to grow." 

Up Next
Next week, the Firestorm will jump into their final week of the season as they host two matches.  On Friday, Hope International will come to town for a match at 6:00 pm.