Caldwell, ID- After being swept by No. 3 Eastern Oregon, Arizona Christian responded to sweep host College of Idaho to open their 2024 season.  Sydney Brown topped the Firestorm offense with 18 kills on the day.

Match Info

• Set scores v Eastern Oregon
  • Set 1: EOU 25, ACU 17
  • Set 2: EOU 25, ACU 16
  • Set 3: EOU 25, ACU 16
• Set scores v College of Idaho
  • Set 1: ACU 25, C of I 21
  • Set 2: ACU 27, C of I 25
  • Set 3: ACU 30, C of I 28
• Records: Arizona Christian - 1-1, Eastern Oregon - 1-0, College of Idaho- 0-2
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Eastern Oregon - 3, College of Idaho - RV
• Location: J.A. Albertson Activities Center, College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID

ACU Stats v EOU

• Emmi Jacobus - 7 kills, hit .308
• Brown - 7 kills, hit .278
• Haley Tedrow - 5 kills, hit .308
• Krysta Petersen - 5 kills
• Caitlin Chan - 14 assists, 5 digs
• Kylie Rhodes - 11 assists, 6 digs
• Nikole Lunsford - 7 digs

Inside The Box Score v EOU

• The first eight points of the season resulted in a 4-4 tied capped by a kill from Petersen
• A kill from Trinity Weidinger brought ACU back within one at 6-5
• But Eastern Oregon took control of the set from there
• After EOU built an early lead in the second set, Brown notched a kill to get the Firestorm back within a 12-11 score
• Once again EOU grabbed control of the set
• The Mountaineers took a 2-0 edge in the third set and did not look back

ACU Stats v C of I

• Brown - 11 kills
• Jacobus - 7 kills, hit .400
• Petersen - 7 kills
• Hailey Reynolds - 6 kills
• Tedrow - 5 kills
• Haley Duncan - 5 kills, .714
• Chan - 20 assists, 6 digs
• Rhodes - 10 assists, 5 digs
• Lunsford - 15 digs
• Weidinger - 9 digs

Inside The Box Score v C of I

• Petersen started the match with a kill
• C of I countered with seven of the next nine points to build a 4 point lead
• But ACU fought back and retook the lead on another Petersen kill
• ACU kept the lead in the set
• Set two started with a 6-0 run by the Firestorm (Jacobus and Brown two kills each)
• The Yotes climbed back into the set and the teams exchanged leads and ties
• ACU saw C of I reach set point at 25-24
• However, the Firestorm took the next three points for the win
• Down as many as eight in the third set, ACU produced another comeback taking their first lead on service ace from Rhodes at 18-17
• Both teams had two set points with the Yotes owning the last of the four at 28-27
• Jacobus had a hand in two of the final three points to complete the sweep

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe
"Due to some last minute changes we had to make some adjustments to our game plan.  We struggled to get in system in our serve receive which kept us from showcasing our offense during our match with Eastern Oregon.  We fine tuned our plan for our second match of the day and were able to find success. Our girls played tough and rebounded well especially with our match not starting until well after 9 PM. Another tough round of matches tomorrow but we are looking forward to the challenge." 

Up Next
Day two of their participation in the College of Idaho tournament will have a similar feel as the Firestorm face a top five ranked team and a team receiving votes.  First match scheduled to start at 12:00 pm (AZ time).