FULLERTON – Railey Druxman posted a match-high 24 kills to power Benedictine Mesa past Hope International in a GSAC women's volleyball contest on Saturday at Darling Pavilion.

Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 25-13.

Druxman added 11 digs for a double-double. Sophie Drollinger chipped in 14 kills and 14 digs for the Redhawks, which improved to 9-5 overall and 2-3 in the GSAC.

The Royals dropped to 6-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Savannah Salter tied her season high with 16 kills on .286 (16-6-35) hitting. Manaia Mamea scored on a variety of shots, finishing with a career-best 15 kills while hitting .464 (15-2-28).

Lole Mamea added eight kills with HIU.

Annie Nugent scooped up a career-high 24 digs. The setter duo of Rita Nua and Alyssa Bishop handed out 26 and 20 assists, respectively.

HIU hit a respectable .259, including above .300 in sets two and three. Benedictine Mesa countered at .267, and finished above .333 in three of the four sets.

Seven ties defined the early portion of set one. The Royals used a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 lead, but the Redhawks stormed back with five straight points. An HIU attack error forced a timeout with the Redhawks leading 15-13.

BENU did not relinquish the lead from there, pushing the advantage to 20-15 on a Drollinger kill. HIU whittled the deficit to 23-21, but Drollinger and Druxman finished the set with back-to-back kills. BENU hit .333 and HIU .273 in set one.

Set two was close as well. With HIU leading 15-12, the Redhawks responded with seven straight points to go up 19-15. The Royals fought back behind two Salter kills and an Alex Jacks ace, and tied the set at 22-22 on a Manaia Mamea putaway. 

But Druxman and Camille Collins answered with consecutive kills. HIU fended off one set point on a Lole Mamea kill, but Druxman found the floor to give the Redhawks the 25-23 victory. BENU swung at a .389 clip and HIU .317 in set two.

The Royals controlled the action in set three in the 25-13 triumph. Leading 9-8, the Royals scored 10 of the next 11 points to grab an insurmountable 19-9 edge. Vianka Martinez and Lauren Cummings had back-to-back block assists during the run.

HIU closed out the set on a Manaia Mamea kill.

But the Redhawks turned the tables in set four, pinning a 25-13 defeat on the home team. BENU turned a 5-4 lead into a six-point bulge with a 5-0 run. A 4-0 run opened up a 16-6 advantage, and the Royals could get no closer than nine points.

Druxman had five kills in set four to hamper the Royals.

HIU is off until next Saturday, October 4, traveling to Life Pacific for a 7:00 p.m. match.