Fullerton, Calif. — Despite rallying to win the third set, Arizona Christian could not overcome Hope International's offensive attack on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Royals in four sets.
Match Notes
- The Firestorm (9-8, 4-6 GSAC) and Royals (8-10, 6-3 GSAC) finished with nearly identical attack totals, but Hope International held a 64-45 advantage in kills
- Tied 3-3 in the opening set, ACU scored four of the next five points, highlighted by two service aces from Addison Bowie
- Hope International responded by winning nine of the next 10 points and maintained control to take the first set 25-20
- Set two was knotted at 5-5 before the Royals pulled away for a 25-17 win
- Trailing 16-11 in the third set, the Firestorm rallied to tie the score at 16-16, capped by a Haley Kootstra kill and an Ashlynn Craven ace
- With the set tied at 23-23, Madison Van Wie and Sydney Wade teamed up for back-to-back blocks to secure a 25-23 victory and extend the match
- ACU overcame an early 5-0 deficit in the fourth set and grabbed a 13-12 lead
- However, Hope International broke a 16-16 tie and won nine of the final 13 points to close out the match with a 25-20 set win
- The Royals finished with 146 attacks compared to 145 for the Firestorm, while also recording 21 attack errors to ACU's 17
Zuri Reeser led the Firestorm with 14 kills, while Van Wie hit .345 with 11 kills and
Madison Sherby added eight. Bowie dished out 19 assists, and Craven paced the defense with 17 digs.
Next Up
The Firestorm return home for two GSAC matches, hosting La Sierra on Thursday before welcoming Life Pacific on Friday.
