Glendale, Ariz.- After dropping the first two sets, Arizona Christian countered by winning the final three sets for a reverse sweep to beat Hope International on Friday night.  The Firestorm earned their first GSAC win of the season by outlasting the Royals as the teams combined for 419 attempts.

Match Info

• Match scores
  • Set 1: HIU 28-26
  • Set 2: HIU 25-18
  • Set 3: ACU 26-24
  • Set 4: ACU 25-14
  • Set 5: ACU 15-9
• Records: Arizona Christian - 8-18, 1-12 GSAC, HIU - 9-15, 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

• Faith Baar- 14 kills, 6 blocks
• Sydney Brown - 14 kills, 9 digs
• Katy Shockey - 10 kills, 6 digs, 4 blocks
• Kaeleigh Gibson - 8 kills, 16 digs
• Caitlin Chan - 30 assists
• Becca Thomson - 24 assists, 12 digs
• Nikole Lunsford - 34 digs
• Trinity Weidinger - 17 digs

Inside The Box Score

• Set one was all about the lead changes and ties as the teams just constantly exchanged points 
• Baar and Emii Jacobus both hammered out kills to allow ACU to reach set point
• But HIU scored four of the last five points for the win
• The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set and did not look back
• Set three was as tight as set one as the teams rode the score seesaw as both were up and then down
• Trailing 21-20, Thomson, Hailey Reynolds, and Gibson all delivered kills for a 23-21 edge
• After two more ties, Brown earned a kill followed by an HIU error to give ACU the set win 
• Brown came out swinging in the fourth set as she had two kills in the first three points
• ACU never allowed even a tie in the set
• Chan surpassed 1,000 career assists midway through the set
• In the final set, ACU trailed 4-3 before going on a 6-0 run (kills by Brown and Baar paced the run)
• HIU did get closer than two the rest of the way as Gibson ended the match with a kill

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe
"Thankful that our athletes get to enjoy the fruit of their labors tonight.  They have worked hard and truly earned the win tonight.  The reverse sweep also seemed like fitting fashion for our first conference win of the season.  Nikole led the defense in the backcourt and created lots of opportunities for our offense to score.  Looking forward to another great battle tomorrow!" 

Up Next
The season finale will come on Saturday when Arizona Christian hosts GSAC Regular Season Champion Vanguard.  Gertie Savitch and Gibson will be honored ahead of the match as the 2023 seniors close out their careers.