8/20/10 - Royals Dig Out Of Hole But Fall

Azusa, CA- After falling behind two sets to none, Hope International fought back to force a fifth set but ultimately fell to Viterbo on Friday night 3-2 (25-22, 25-24, 11-25, 23-25, 15-4). Junior Naomi Iosia and Senior Amanda Elliott combined for 26 kills on the night.

The Royals (1-1) dropped the first two sets by a combined five points.  The first set was probably the most exciting as it featured 11 ties and 6 lead changes.  The two teams saw every tie possible from points 15-20.  After the 20-20 tie, the Hawks (3-2) used a 5-2 run to close out the set.

Senior Ashley Travis had four kills in the opening set.  She would eventually finish the evening with 9 kills.

In the second set, the Royals held the lead at 23-20 but could not hold off the Hawks.

The third set was all Royals as they led wire-to-wire and completed the set with a 14 point spread.  While hitting .393 themselves, Hope International held Viterbo to a -.079 hitting set.  Elliott and Iosia led the charge offensively with 4 kills each. 

Blocking was a big part of the set as well as the Royals recorded 4 of their 9 blocks in the set.  Travis and Senior Setter Emily Lyon both recorded solo blocks.

An early lead by the Royals in the fourth set did not last as the Hawks fought back to take the lead and force 6 ties including at 23-23.  Junior Kassen Boesel, Iosia, and Elliott all had three kills.  Senior Christina Richards recorded 2.5 blocks to help the Royals pull out the set.

Viterbo built a 6-0 nothing lead to take command of the fifth set and ultimately the match.

At the end of the day, the quickness of Viterbo’s defense was the difference in the match.  The Royals tried both finesse and power but struggled at times to find the floor on the other side of the net as Viterbo dug up an astounding 87 attacks.  The Hawks’ Libero Jordan Blaken finished with 36 digs.

The Royals by the way were not too shabby with 76 digs of their own- including 24 by Senior Jocelyn Moya.

With twelve days until their next match (Wednesday September 1 at home), the Royals will plenty to time to rest up and prepare for Vanguard.  First serve is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

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