FULLERTON – Hope International tangled with one of the top teams in the GSAC on Saturday at Darling Pavilion, falling in four sets to Life Pacific.

Set scores were 25-23, 12-25, 25-21, 25-21.

The Royals concluded their season at 7-16 overall and 3-13 in the GSAC. 

HIU celebrated the careers of six seniors – Madison Schweitzer, Savannah Salter, Lauren Cummings, Kat Schwab, Annie Nugent and Isabel Villavicencio.

Manaia Mamea led the Royals with 14 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double. Cummings chipped in 10 kills, and Schwab had nine.

With a match-high 23 digs, Nugent surpassed 1,000 for her career.

Setter Alyssa Bishop turned in a 25-assist, 11-dig double-double, and Rita Nua had 24 assists and 14 digs.

Bishop also posted five service aces.

HIU hit .241 for the match, and outpaced the Warriors in kills (59-45), assists (59-44) and digs (86-76).

Trailing 18-15 in set one, the Warriors fired off five straight points to take a 20-18 lead. The score then was tied four times – the last at 23-23 – when the Warriors got back-to-back kills from Kate Smith and Kendal Collins for the 25-23 win.

HIU dominated set two, hitting .312 (14-4-32) compared to .037 (3-2-27) for Life Pacific. The Royals turned a 7-7 tie into a 14-7 lead with seven straight points, with Bishop accounting for four service aces during the run.

The Warriors scored twice, but a 6-0 HIU run put the set out of reach at 20-9.

The final two sets were close.

Life Pacific scored three straight points late in set three to build a 23-18 lead. Collins finished off the 25-21 win with a kill.

In set four, HIU led 10-8 on a Salter kill, and remained in front 14-12 on a Life Pacific attack error. The road team took a one-point lead on a three-point swing, and a 4-0 run gave the Warriors a 19-16 edge.

Life Pacific extended the lead to 23-18 on a Collins kill. Back-to-back Royal kills from Lole Mamea and Manaia Mamea pushed HIU to within 24-21, but the Warriors ended the contest on a Jadyn Armstrong putaway.