By: Tim Gooszen

Santa Clarita, Calif.- Playing on the neutral floor of The Master's, Arizona Christian outlasted Hope International on Friday to collect their first GSAC win of the season.  

Match Info

• Match score: Arizona Christian- 3, Hope International - 1 
  • Set 1: ACU 28-26
  • Set 2: HIU 27-25
  • Set 3: ACU 25-23 
  • Set 4: ACU 25-19 
• Records: Arizona Christian - 4-3, 1-0 GSAC, Hope International - 2-8, 1-1 GSAC
• Location: The MacArthur Center, The Master's University, Santa Clarita, CA

ACU Stats

• Jarrett Spartz - 17 kills
• Caleb Merlino - 12 kills, hit .857, 8 blocks
• Dillon Scolaro - 8 kills, 6 blocks
• Thomas Johannesen - 20 assists, 4 kills
• Josiah Flores - 19 assists
• Jeremy Simon - 15 digs

Inside the Box Score

• Hope International built a 4-1 lead to start the match
• But Arizona Christian fought to force a 7-7
• Down six points as late as 20-14, ACU rallied through a few set points 
• Three final points gave the Firestorm the set
• After an early 4-1 ACU advantage, HIU went ahead in the second set
• The Royals again built a six point advantage (23-17)
• ACU came all the way back to force ties at 24-24 and 25-25 before falling 
• Set three was a seesaw ride of lead changes and ties including 20-20
• A kill from three Firestorm and a service ace from Aydan Pimentel  gave ACU four of their five points and the set win
• Down 6-5 in the fourth, the Firestorm countered and built a 9-6 edge and did not look back

Thoughts from Coach Toben
"I am really proud of how the guys competed today.  It was a full team effort, and it was awesome to see our freshmen play with confidence in big moments.  Getting our first conference win this year is a great feeling! Roll Storm."


Up Next
The Firestorm will stay to face host and NAIA number one ranked The Master's on Saturday at 2:00 pm (MT).