Glendale, Ariz.- After coming up short in their first match of the day, Arizona Christian capped off the Firestorm Labor Day Invitational with a big win over Benedictine-Mesa on Saturday evening.

Match Info

• Match scores v Park-Gilbert
  • Set 1: Park 25-21
  • Set 2: ACU 27-25
  • Set 3: Park 25-18
  • Set 4: Park 25-18
• Match scores v Benedictine-Mesa
  • Set 1: ACU 25-18
  • Set 2: ACU 25-22
  • Set 3: BENU 25-14
  • Set 4: BENU 25-20
  • Set 5: ACU 15-13
• Records: Arizona Christian - 6-6, Park-Gilbert - 2-4, Benedictine-Mesa - 7-1
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Pak-Gilbert - not ranked, Benedictine-Mesa - RV
• Location: Firestorm Recreation Center, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

ACU Stats v Park-Gilbert

• Ryan Coughlin - 12 kills, hit .385
• Hailey Reynolds - 12 kills, hit .308
• Sydney Brown - 9 kills
• Caitlin Chan - 20 assists
• Becca Thomson- 19 assists, 5 kills
• Nikole Lunsford - 15 digs

Inside The Box Score v Park-Gilbert

• ACU led briefly in the first set at 6-5 and 7-6
• Set two was tie after tie and lead change after lead change
• The Firestorm saw three set points before closing out the set by forcing an error
• Emmi Jacobus (kill), Chan (ace) and Reynolds (kill) helped the Firestorm take three of the first four points of set three
• But the Bucs moved ahead from there
• Down 12-11 in the fourth set, a block from Reynolds and Jacobus, kill from Kaeleigh Gibson, and Reynolds move ACU in front
• The Buccaneers forced two ties before moving ahead

ACU Stats v Benedictine-Mesa

• Brown - 11 kills
• Coughlin - 9 kills
• Katy Shockey - 7 kills, hit .417
• Reynolds - 7 kills
• Thomson - 19 assists, 7 digs
• Chan - 15 assists
• Lunsford - 13 digs
• Jacobus - 6 blocks

Inside The Box Score v Benedictine-Mesa

• Down 7-4 in the first set, Thomson led a 6-0 charge with serving and assists
• Tied 11-11, Shockey put away a kill and ACU did not look back in the set
• The first 26 points of the second set saw a 13-13 tie before later a 21-21 tie
• ACU secured four of the last five points for the set win
• Coughlin gave ACU a 3-2 edge in the third with a kill before BENU went in front
• Ahead 7-6, ACU saw their lead slip away in the fourth
• Back and forth in the fifth found BENU ahead 13-11 in the race to 15
• However, a kill from Reynolds, block by Brown and Jacobus, and Brown kill gave ACU the match

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe
"The tournament this weekend definitely had some highs and lows.  It was great to be able to finish with a tough earned win.  We really showed some grit as a team to finish well after dropping the third and fourth sets." 

Up Next
The Firestorm will hit the road next week as they open GSAC action.  The first conference opportunity for ACU will come at Menlo on Friday.