Athletics
First Five-Set Match Of Season Does Not Go Firestorm Way
Surprise, Ariz. – On Saturday afternoon, Arizona Christian played its first five-set match of the season. Unfortunately, the decisive set went in favor of OUAZ as the Firestorm fell short of completing the reverse sweep.
Match Notes
- OUAZ grabbed the early lead in the first set and never relinquished it
- A kill by Olivia Stubenrauch gave ACU its first lead of the afternoon at 3-2 in the second set
- The Spirit (20-5, 13-1 GSAC) countered with a 4-0 run to take the lead and held on the rest of the way
- Madison Van Wie and Zuri Reeser opened the third set with kills for the Firestorm
- Several ties and lead changes followed, eventually bringing the set to a 24-24 deadlock
- Sydney Wade and Reeser delivered back-to-back kills to secure the set victory for ACU
- In the fourth set, the Firestorm (11-12, 5-10 GSAC) found themselves trailing 7-4
- Back-to-back kills from Halo Sinanovic gave ACU an 8-7 advantage
- After taking the lead, Sinanovic added a service ace to extend the advantage to 12-9
- Although OUAZ pulled within one on several occasions, Arizona Christian maintained its lead to force a decisive fifth set
- Playing in its first fifth set of 2026, ACU tied the score at 1-1 on a kill by Wade
- However, a 5-0 run pushed the Spirit in front, and OUAZ maintained control the rest of the way.
- The Spirit did not commit an attack error in the final set.
Reeser led the Firestorm with 15 kills, while Van Wie added 13. Wade and Sinanovic each contributed five kills. Becca Thomson recorded 20 assists and 17 digs, while Addison Bowie added 17 assists. Kiah Lerma led ACU with 24 digs, followed by Kensie Seward with 13. Wade also finished with five blocks.
Next Up
The Firestorm will play their final match of the season on Thursday when they host Benedictine Mesa at 6:00 p.m. ACU’s seniors will be honored before the match.
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