Fullerton, CA - The Hope International University Royals Men's Volleyball team (15-6, 6-3 GSAC) stunned the No. 6 Redhawks of Benedictine University (15-3, 5-1 GSAC) 3-1 Saturday afternoon at home in the Darling Pavilion. With the second set underway, the Royals were looking to capitalize on their first set win. The Royals got on the board early with kills from Cole Oliver and a huge block by Damon Potter and Kyler Tufuga. With the Royals now in the lead and Cole Oliver serving, the Royals continued to find ways to break through the defense of the Redhawks. Sean Seaman and Coby Prowse earned kills assisted by Cole Oliver and Kyler Tufuga to keep the Royals in the game. The Redhawks managed to shorten the Royals lead and regain their lead. Now with the Redhawks ahead, the Royals began to break through their defense. A huge kill by Coby Prowse brought the Royals within one. The Redhawks managed to stretch their lead nearing the end of the set, 23-19. Despite the Royals efforts, the Redhawks managed to score two more points and took the second set with a score of 25-21 and tied the game 1-1. With the Royals looking to win their second set of the match, they gained an early lead. A kill by Julian Zavala assisted by Kyler Tufuga gave the Royals the advantage. Despite the Royals strong efforts, the Redhawks managed to crawl back and regain their lead. With the Redhawks up one, Cole Oliver earned a kill which tied the game. Following an error by the Redhawks which brought the Royals within one, Damon Potter earned a kill to tie the score. With tensions high and the score tied, a solo block by Cole Oliver brought the momentum and put the Royals up one. The Royals and Redhawks entered into an intense rally which ended with the Redhawks earning the point making the score 21-19 with the Royals down two. A monster kill by Damon Potter brought the Royals within one. The Royals continued to attack the defense of the Redhawks. A kill by Kyler Tufuga assisted by Coby Prowse tied the game once again, 22-22. The Redhawks called a time out looking to find an opportunity to win the second set. Despite their timeout, the Royals had all the momentum as kills by Julian Zavala and Kyler Tufuga gave the Royals a two point lead 24-22. A huge block by Damon Porter and Cole Oliver gave the Royals the point they needed to win the set, 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead. The Royals took an early lead in the fourth set looking to end the game. An early kill by Sean Seaman assisted by Kyler Tufuga put the Royals on the board early. Another monster kill by Cole Oliver also assisted by Kyler Tufuga gave the Royals the momentum they needed to extend their lead. The Royals began breaking through the defense of the Redhawks earning themselves a comfortable lead with the score being 8-3. The Royals continued to break through the defense of the Redhawks. Two service aces by Coby Prowse stretched the score for the Royals to 12-4. Despite the Redhawks looking to shorten the Royals lead, the Royals defensive line was no match for the Redhawks with a block by Sean Seaman and Julian Zavala. The Royals went up by nine and would go on to close out the set on a block by Cole Oliver and Sean Seaman followed by a service error by the Redhawks giving the Royals a 25-15 set win and a shock 3-1 upset win. Oliver led the Royals with 18 kills.

The Royals continue action at home as they face No. 1 The Masters University on Wednesday, April 9th at 6:00pm at the Darling Pavilion to end the regular season of GSAC play.