Santa Clarita, CA- Arizona Christian ended their season in the opening round of the first ever GSAC Tournament when they fell 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-22) to Hope International on the neutral court of The Master's.  Senior Alli Lemnitzer recorded eight kills while hitting .538 in her final collegiate match.

The first eight points had a tilt toward the Firestorm as they used a kill from Sophomore Amanda Bakonyi, a block by Senior Toria Siemens and Lemnitzer, and service ace from Junior Jackie Stein to contribute to a 6-2 edge.  The Firestorm (13-15) countered a 5-0 run by the Royals (17-9) with a kill put away by Junior Breanna Scott and HIU error to grab the lead back at 8-7.  But Hope International moved ahead for good in the set two points later.

Set two was as competitive as they come as the teams exchanged 13 ties and eight lead changes.  The first lead came in the form of a kill off the arms of Bakonyi and Siemens followed by a service ace from Senior Debbie White.  Fast forward to a 22-22 tie and Siemens and Scott notched back-to-back kills to push ACU out to set point.  However, HIU answered with the final four points to take a 2-0 sets lead.

Bakonyi produced four kills without an error while Sophomore Delaney Harris dug up nine attacks in the second set.

A 10-10 tie was the outcome of the first 20 points of the third set.  HIU earned the next point before Lemnitzer delivered two kills in a row for the 12-11 cushion.  A Scott kill gave Arizona Christian a 17-16 advantage but that turned out to be ACU's final lead of the season.

Behind Lemnitzer's eight kills, Scott and Bakonyi both ended up with seven kills.  Stein finished one back at six kills but also recorded 12 digs.  Seniors Kinsey Pease and Hailey Carpenter dished out 18 and 13 assists respectively.

Harris was good for 15 digs on the neutral court.

The Firestorm end their season with 13 wins- the most wins for ACU since joining the GSAC in 2012.  Nice season Arizona Christian Women's Volleyball.