Ashland, Ore.- Down 2-1 in their season opener, Arizona Christian rallied to beat Oregon Tech 3-2 in their first match under Head Coach Tiger Shelton.  Their second match of Friday at the Raider Invitational saw the Firestorm fall in three to Bushnell.

Match Info

• Set scores v Oregon Tech
  • Set 1: ACU 25-23
  • Set 2: OIT 25-14
  • Set 3: OIT 25-15
  • Set 4: ACU 25-23
  • Set 5: ACU 15-9
• Set scores v Bushnell
  • Set 1: BU 25-22
  • Set 2: BU 28-26
  • Set 3: BU 25-20
• Records: Arizona Christian - 1-1, Oregon Tech - 0-1, Bushnell 1-0
• Location: Lithia Motors Pavilion, Southern Oregon, Ashland, OR

ACU Stats v Oregon Tech

• Zuri Reeser - 22 kills
• Ryan Coughlin - 11 kills, 22 digs
• Haley Tedrow - 9 kills
• Sydney Wade - 7 kills
• Becca Thomson - 32 assists, 10 digs
• Shelby Emich- 22 assists
• Kiah Lerma - 21 digs

Inside The Box Score v Oregon Tech

• Reeser delivered a kill on the first point of her Firestorm career
• The Owls forced six ties but the Firestorm never let the lead go in favor of OIT
• Tied 23-23, Thomson delivered a kill to break the tie and OIT missed on a attack to give ACU the set
• A kill by Reeser started set two
• Lerma served up a 5-4 lead with an ace and Wade followed with a kill
• OIT broke a 9-9 tie and did not look back
• Set three was all Oregon Tech
• The Owls scored first in the fourth set
• Four straight kills from Reeser gave the Firestorm the edge in score
• Another couple of ties but OIT did not lead again
• Coughlin forced a decisive fifth set with a kill to end the fourth
• Two kills from Reeser sandwiched around two errors by OIT gave ACU 4-0 advantage in the fifth
• Arizona Christian did not allow even a tie the rest of the way

ACU Stats v Bushnell

• Reeser - 9 kills, 12 digs
• Tedrow - 9 kills
• Thomson - 18 assists
• Coughlin - 11 digs
• Ashlynn Craven - 8 digs
• Kailey Reeves - 3 blocks

Inside The Box Score v Bushnell

• Trailing 10-9 in the first set, ACU countered with a 6-0 run (two blocks by Tedrow and Reeves, Thomson ace)
• Up 22-21, ACU would not score again as BU closed with a 4-0 run
• The Firestorm had control early in the second set with leads of 5-1 and 11-6
• ACU had set point at 24-23 but Bushnell answered and soon broke a 26-26 tie to claim the set
• Set three- Tedrow used a kill to give ACU a 2-0 edge
• A Thomson dump gave the Firestorm a 4-3 lead
• The Beacons broke a 5-5 tie and remained ahead for good

Thoughts from Coach Shelton
Versus Oregon Tech- "We got to see a very focused Arizona Christian team all the way from the players who were on the court to the bench.  Everyone was on the same page and they thought it was not easy but they came up victorious and it was fun to watch.  Great leadership on the court.  Great leadership off the court and they believe." 

Against Bushnell- "Suffered an injury and had to make some changes but the girls played very well.  All things considered.  I think if we battle back through these injuries we will be fine.  They showed a lot of grit and had potential to win and it just was not in the cards but we are getting better every day." 

Up Next
The Firestorm will continue playing in the Raider Invitational on Saturday with matches against Simpson and the host Southern Oregon.