FULLERTON – Senior Lole Mamea tied her season high with 14 kills to lead the Hope International women's volleyball team to a dominant 25-16, 25-21, 25-18 victory against Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) on Saturday at Darling Pavilion.
She hit .375 with just two errors in 32 attempts as the Royals took both matches in the season series with the Eagles. HIU has won three of its last four contests in improving to 6-10 overall and 4-3 in the GSAC.
Sabrina Galassi added 11 kills and nine digs, while Kaylani Moncada topped all Royals with 19 digs.
Running the HIU offense was setter Rita Nua, who handed out 37 assists and helped the Royals hit .252 as a team.
Manaia Mamea chipped in eight kills and had a team-best three service aces.
HIU continued to showcase a solid block, winning the stuff battle against ERAU 8.0-1.0.
Anela Chew topped ERAU (10-8, 3-5 GSAC) with 11 kills.
In set one, the Royals fired off four service aces, including three by Manaia Mamea, to build an early 11-2 lead. The Royals completed a 10-1 run, taking a 14-3 lead following a block assist from Nua and Genevieve Kertz.
HIU hit .244 to ERAU's .031 in rolling to the 25-16 set one victory.
The two teams battled back and forth through eight ties in set two. Two Manaia Mamea kills and a Galassi ace helped HIU construct a 14-11 lead. Three straight HIU points – following kills from Nua, Manaia Mamea and Galassi – opened up a 22-16 advantage. The Eagles fought back though and reeled off five straight points to pull within one at 22-21.
However, HIU had a response, scoring the final three points on Galassi, Lole Mamea and Kertz putaways for the 25-21 triumph. HIU nearly matched its hitting efficiency from set one, checking in at .243 while the Eagles swung at a .212 clip.
Set three featured five early ties, but the Royals steadily built a lead and back-to-back Olivia Samaniego kills gave HIU a 17-12 advantage. The Eagles crept back to within 19-16, but a 3-0 HIU mini run bumped the lead up to six.
The Royals polished off the 25-18 win as the Mamea sisters scored three of the final four points.
HIU hit a match-best .268 (15-4-41) in set three and held ERAU to .211 efficiency.
The Royals travel to Life Pacific on Friday, October 9 for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
