SPARKILL, N.Y. — D'Youville (4-12, 1-4 ECC) came up just short in a hard-fought five-set battle on the road, falling to St. Thomas Aquinas (4-12, 1-3 ECC) at Aquinas Hall, 23-25, 27-25, 30-28, 25-27, 15-8.

The Saints opened the match with strong energy and composure, trading points early before pulling ahead behind the play of Cameron Ulinski and setter Alina Bertens-Deckart. Ulinski's timely kills helped D'Youville take control late in the set, while Bertens-Deckart spread the offense to keep the Spartans off balance. Madeline O'Brien capped off the opening frame with a clutch kill to give the Saints a 25-23 victory.

D'Youville carried that momentum into the second set, where consistent serving and defense helped them take a 2-0 match lead. Maddie Boglev sparked the scoring with an early kill, and Lauren Scully added an ace to keep things even at 5-5. The Saints showed poise under pressure late, with Ulinski delivering a critical kill to put D'Youville on set point before an opponent's attack error secured the 27-25 win.

The Saints continued to battle in the third, rallying from an 18-10 deficit behind kills from Gabrielle Dials and an ace from Giselle Ramirez. Ulinski's kill tied the score at 21-21, but the Saints narrowly dropped the frame 30-28 after a long exchange of points.

In the fourth, D'Youville fought back once again, with Ulinski leading the way offensively and Dials adding key defensive stops. Despite erasing a late deficit to even the score at 24-24, the Saints fell 27-25, forcing a decisive fifth set.

D'Youville showed resilience to the end, closing the gap to 7-6 after a block by Dials and Ramirez, but St. Thomas Aquinas capitalized on late errors to take the final set 15-8.

Ulinski led D'Youville's attack with another strong offensive outing, while Bertens-Deckart and Ramirez anchored the team's playmaking and defense. Despite the result, the Saints' ability to push the match to five sets on the road reflected their growing chemistry and determination as ECC play continues.