Gilbert, AZ- The Royals of Hope International (10-10, 4-6GSAC) fell to the Buccaneers of Park Arizona (5-8,1-8 GSAC) in a 4 set match Friday evening in Gilbert Arizona. 

The Royals started the match off strong with an immediate point off of an Annie Nugents serve. The Buccaneers continued to attack the Royals going on a 3-0 run following Nugents serve. This run ended following a block by Rachel Holmberg and a kill by Rachael Street both from Addie Mathias. The teams then continued to trade points throughout the remainder of the match. An ace by Stacey Dawes put the Royals ahead and they began to stretch the lead capitalizing off of the Buccaneers errors. The Buccaneers called a timeout in an attempt to win the match but the Royals kept their intensity, Savannah Salter ended the set with the Kill from an Addie Mathias' set. The Royals won the first set 25-21 

Looking to build off of their first set win, The Royals started the second set strong with a kill by Rachael Street followed by two kills from Addie Mathias. The Buccaneers attempted to keep up with the Royals but great efforts from Savannah Salter kept them in the lead. The Royals lead began to slip away as they began to make crucial errors that lead to the Buccaneers receiving points. The Royals continued to make adjustments, working in their favor the score came within two nearing the end of the second set. Last second kills from Cassidy Koffroth and Lauren Cummings were not enough to keep the Royals in the set as they fell to the Buccaneers in the second set with a score of 20-24. 

The Buccaneers kept their momentum from the second set entering the third with a 11-0 run. The Royals answered back with two kills from Cassidy Koffroth putting them on the board 2-13. The Royals efforts to keep with the Buccaneers were not enough as the Buccaneers continued to extend the lead. Despite last minute efforts from Savannah Salter, the Royals fell to the Buccaneers in the third set 8-25. 

The Royals entered the fourth set looking to bounce back from sets two and three. The Buccaneers started the set off strong going on a short run. The Royals refused to go down with out a fight, Yale Spoja and Cassidy Koffroth kept the Royals energy alive with two kills early in the set. Despite these efforts, the Eagles continued to stretch the lead. The Royals answered back going on a 6-0 run. The Buccaneers could not handle the momentum the Royals were playing with resulting in a timeout late in the set. The Buccaneers returned from the timeout with a fresh wind trading points with the Royals. Cassidy Koffroth earned two kills near the end of the set, putting the Royals in a great position to take the set, unfortunately, two kills by the Buccaneers put them ahead ending the fourth and final set 24-26

The Royals will continue GSAC action on the road as they will face Benedictine University Mesa, Saturday October 26th at 2:00PM in Mesa, Arizona.