Glendale, Ariz.- On Thursday evening, Arizona Christian put a win in the GSAC win column after reverse sweeping Life Pacific.  Needing 13 digs for 1,000 career digs, Nikole Lunsford went for 22 digs against the Warriors.  Haley Duncan was wall with 12 blocks assists- an ACU single match block assist record.

Match Info

• Match scores
  • Set 1: LPU 25-23
  • Set 2: LPU 25-22
  • Set 3: ACU 25-19
  • Set 4: ACU 25-23
  • Set 5: ACU 15-9
• Records: Arizona Christian - 11-8, 1-3 GSAC, Life Pacific - 10-9, 1-4 GSAC
• Location: Firestorm Recreation Center, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

ACU Stats

• Sydney Brown - 13 kills
• Krysta Petersen - 11 kills
• Madison Van Wie - 9 kills
• Ryan Coughlin - 6 kills, 14 digs, 4 aces
• Caitlin Chan - 30 assists
• Becca Thomson - 14 assists
• Lunsford - 22 digs
• Trinity Weidinger - 15 digs
• Duncan - 12 blocks

Inside The Box Score

• Set one was tight at the beginning seeing a tie of 6-6
• Up 9-7, Petersen delivered three straight kills and moved ACU ahead 12-7 
• Fast toward the end and ACU was in front by four 23-19
• But LPU scored the last six points for the set win
• The second set played to a 13-13 tie
• LPU outscored ACU 12-9 down the stretch to take a 2-0 lead in the match
• Set three was for grabs as the teams played to an 18-18 tie
• After forcing an attack error, Van Wie and Brown delivered straight kills and the Firestorm stayed on top
• For Lunsford her second to last dig of the third set made her the fifth all-time member of the ACU 1,000 digs club
• LPU built a 9-2 edge in the fourth set and appeared on their way to victory
• The Firestorm fought and forged a few ties along the way
• Behind 23-21, Van Wie paired two kills and a block (Emmi Jacobus) with a service ace from Reagan Schouten to force the final set
• Set five started with a Van Wie/Duncan block, Coughlin ace, and Brown kill and ACU maintained the lead until locking up the win and reverse sweep
• Duncan broke the block assist record of nine- set three seasons ago also against Life Pacific

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe
"I wish I could say that the reverse sweep is what we drew up as the game plan but that is just not the case.  It was a tight match all the way through and a few key performances tipped the scales for us. Duncan's blocking was a game changer that shifted an efficient offense down to hitting below .100 by the end of the match.  Madison also came in and provided consistent offense on the right side that opened up the net more for our other attackers.  Overall it was a great team win and I am proud of how our girls fought." 

Up Next
The Firestorm will turn right around and host Hope International on Friday evening at 6:00 pm.