Mesa, AZ- the Hope International University Men's Volleyball team (8-4, 0-1 GSAC) fell to the Redhawks of Benedictine University Mesa (10-2, 1-0 GSAC) 3-0 in their first GSAC game of the season. 

The Royals got off to a hot start as they got on the board early due to service errors from the Redhawks. Benedictine eventually made their way back into the game finding ways to break through the Royals defense. The Royals made it clear that they weren't going down without a fight. A huge kill by Julian Zavala followed by another kill by Cole Oliver gave the Royals the lead once again. The team's began to trade points until the end of the set. With the Game tied 18-18, Cole Oliver earned two back to back kills. Despite Oliver's efforts, the Royals fell in the first set, 22-25 and trailed 1-0. 

With the second set underway and the Royals looking to bounce back from their first set, they got on the board early with the help of Julian Zavala. The Redhawks continued to build off of their first set momentum which led them to earning an early four point lead early in the set. With the Royals down, they continued to push and make efforts to shorten the lead. A service error by the Redhawks brought the match within one giving the Royals hope to take the lead. Despite a kill late in the set by Coby Prowse assisted by Kyler Tufuga, the Royals could not dig their way out of the hole as the Redhawks took the second set 21-25. 

With the third set underway, the Royals were looking for a spark of energy to turn the game around. The Royals got on the board with an ace by Cole Oliver assisted by Kyler Tufuga. The Royals started off this third set with four straight points. The teams began trading points until a service ace by Zach Nicoletti gave the Royals a two point lead, 17-15. The Redhawks managed to make a come back. Late in the set a kill by Kyler Tufuga assisted by Coby Prowse brought the score within one at 22-23. The Royals made it clear that they were not going down without a fight. Kyler Tufuga returned the favor to Coby Prowse assisting him for another kill which also tied the game, 24-24. Despite efforts from The Royals, the Redhawks managed to score two points to win the match with a score of 29-27 as the Royals fell 3-0.

The Royals will look to bounce back from their first GSAC loss of the season Saturday March 8th against Park University Gilbert in Gilbert,AZ at 1pm.