Firestorm Rally For Season Ending Win Against Pioneers

Box Score

Glendale, Ariz.- After dropping the first two sets on Saturday afternoon, Arizona Christian responded by winning the last three sets to close out their season with a win over Wayland Baptist.  Strong serving by the Firestorm keyed by a season match high of 13 aces played a key role in the victory.

Match Info

• Match score: Arizona Christian – 3, Wayland Baptist – 2
  • Set 1: WBU 25-23
  • Set 2: WBU 26-24
  • Set 3: ACU 25-13
  • Set 4: ACU 25-20
  • Set 5: ACU 15-8
• Records: Arizona Christian – 6-8, Wayland Baptist – 14-6
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian – not ranked, Wayland Baptist – not ranked
• Location: YMCA- Glendale, Glendale, AZ

ACU Stats

• Delaney Frame – 14 kills, hit .303
• Krysta Petersen – 10 kills, hit .286
• Tyler Gebhart – 8 kills
• Stephanie Anguelsky – 8 kills
• Marina Samaniego – 28 assists, 21 digs, 2 aces
• Hattey Smith – 25 assists, 11 digs, 3 aces
• Alyssa Fierro – 34 digs (tied season high)
• Hannah Alvarado – 23 digs, 2 aces
• Emma Combes – 10 digs, ace

Inside the Box Score

• A kill by Gebhart gave ACU their first lead of the afternoon at 5-4 in the first set
• Fast forward to a 20-20 tie and Gebhart locked in another kill for the brief lead
• WBU outscored ACU 5-2 to close out the set
• Set two featured 17 ties and seven lead changes
• An ace from Fierro gave the Firestorm a 23-22 edge but ACU would score just one more point in the second set
• Samaniego served up an 8-0 lead to begin the third set (two aces and three kills from Frame) and ACU did not look back
• The fourth tie of the fourth set resulted in a 17-17 tie
• ACU rattled off a 6-0 run to take control of the set (Courtney Root had two kills in the run)
• WBU started the final set with a 4-1 lead
• But ACU allowed just four more points the remainder of the match to earn the win

Thoughts from Coach Briscoe

“Proud of our finish pulling off the reverse sweep for senior day.  Our girls worked hard and find the strength to keep persevering even when things were not going our way.  Our offense kept solid pressure on them, and our defense was phenomenal.  Our athletes have worked hard this season and I’m glad they get to go out on top.“

Up Next

The Firestorm season comes to an end.  Before the match they honored their three seniors.  

Firestorm Athletics

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