The Benedictine University Mesa men's volleyball team put together a resilient, back-and-forth performance but ultimately fell in five sets to Arizona Christian University on Thursday night. The Redhawks dropped the opening set 25-20, responded with strong wins in sets two and three (25-18, 25-23), but ACU answered to take the final two sets 25-18 and 15-9 to secure the match.
Benedictine opened the night trading points with Arizona Christian in a tightly contested first set. Kills from Travis Kelly, Ethan Russel, Tucker Cunningham, and Raphael Mkpegue helped BENU stay within striking distance early, but ACU strung together a late run behind strong serving and transition offense to pull away for the 25-20 win.
The Redhawks answered emphatically in the second set. Benedictine jumped out to an early lead behind Kelly's aggressive attacking and solid blocking from John Jakaitis and Ethan Russel. BENU forced ACU into several errors and maintained control throughout the set, stretching the lead as large as eight points. A late kill from Kelly sealed the 25-18 set win and evened the match at one set apiece.
Momentum stayed with Benedictine in the third set, though the frame proved to be the most competitive of the match. The teams exchanged leads multiple times, with Kelly, Cunningham, and Mkpegue continuing to find success at the net. Late in the set, clutch kills from Cunningham and Ryder Kelley gave BENU the separation it needed. Benedictine closed out the set 25-23 to take a 2-1 match lead.
Arizona Christian responded in the fourth set by applying heavy pressure from the service line. A run midway through the set allowed ACU to build a sizeable advantage, forcing Benedictine into a timeout as the Redhawks worked to regain momentum. Despite late points from Joseph Washington, Ethan Russel, and Chase Jensen, BENU was unable to close the gap, and ACU took the set 25-18 to force a decisive fifth.
The fifth set saw Arizona Christian jump out early, capitalizing on early errors and blocking at the net. Benedictine attempted to answer with kills from Jakaitis, Russel, Jensen, and Washington, but ACU continued to extend its lead. The Redhawks showed fight late, but Arizona Christian closed the set at 15-9 to win the match.
