FULLERTON – Hope International women's volleyball finished out the Summer Slam on Saturday at Darling Pavilion, dropping a pair of matches to Bushnell and No. 6 Southern Oregon.
The Royals closed out the opening weekend of the season with a 1-3 record.
Bushnell 3, Hope International 1
Hailey Heider collected a match-high 14 kills to lead Bushnell to a 25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 25-15 victory over Hope International.
The Royals were led by Savannah Salter's eight kills. Kat Schwab notched seven kills and Manaia Mamea added five.
Rita Nua handed out 17 assists to go along with a team-high tying seven digs.
The Beacons hit better than .280 in three of the four sets and finished at .277 for the match, while the Royals swung at an .081 clip.
The Royals fell behind two sets to none after hitting -.150 and .032, respectively. The Beacons hit a match-high .320 in the second set, using an early 5-0 run to take a 7-2 lead. Bushnell built the lead to as many as nine points and HIU could get no closer than six the rest of the way.
HIU hit a solid .344 in the third set to eke out a 25-23 victory. Salter had four kills and Schwab chipped in three. The Royals fought back from a 13-7 deficit, going on a 9-2 run to take a 16-15 lead.
The two teams traded sideouts for a number of points – and with the set tied at 23-23 – Schwab and Salter delivered back-to-back kills to earn HIU the 25-23 victory.
HIU could not carry over the momentum into set four as Bushnell hit .300 (14-5-30). The Royals checked in at .000 (5-5-28). HIU hung tough, trailing just 8-7, but the Beacons sprinted away on a 7-2 run.
Ahead 15-9, the Beacons eventually widened the margin to 10 at 22-12. Teagan Dixon's kill on match point closed out the 25-15 win.
No. 6 Southern Oregon 3, Hope International 0
The Royals stayed with the Raiders stride for stride as eight ties marked the competitiveness of the first set. HIU led 14-12 following a Madison Schweitzer kill, but Southern Oregon responded with a 4-0 run to lead 16-14. The Royals got kills from Lauren Cummings and Salter – and following an assisted block from Schwab and Olivia Samaniego – HIU had an 18-17 advantage.
But the Raiders straightened themselves out, scoring the last eight points to earn the 25-18 victory. Three Royal attack errors helped Southern Oregon, as did a Raider ace from Andressa Ribeiro Soares.
Southern Oregon led from start to finish in the second set, picking up an easy 25-12 triumph. The Raiders hit a sizzling .667 with 11 kills and just one error in 15 attempts.
The Raiders had a pair of 4-0 runs plus a 7-0 burst to build a 12-point lead late in the set.
In set three, the Royals built a two-point lead at 4-2, but the Raiders reeled off five straight to go up 7-4. HIU tied the score at 7-7 and again at 10-10.
However, SOU notched 10 of the next 12 points to open up a 20-12 cushion, helped by three Maya Watters kills. The Raiders took the 25-18 victory as Ribeiro Soares closed out the match with a kill.
The Royals return to action on Saturday, August 30 against Caltech and West Coast Baptist College in Pasadena.
