SAN DIMAS, Calif. – Hope International women's volleyball tallied a season-best 12 service aces to win for the fourth time in five contests, downing host Life Pacific in straight sets on Friday at Mehl Court.
The Royals picked up the 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 victory on the strength of four aces each from Manaia Mamea and Lole Mamea, in addition to three from Rita Nua.
Sabrina Galassi provided a match-high 10 kills, followed by Lole Mamea and Manaia Mamea with nine and seven, respectively, as the Royals improved to 7-10 overall and 5-3 in the GSAC.
Setter Rita Nua dished out 35 assists and Kaylani Moncada scooped up a match-best 23 digs from the back row.
HIU used a bevy of big runs throughout the match, two of which were catalysts to comebacks in sets one and two.
The Royals trailed 17-15 in set one, but reeled off 10 straight points to capture the 25-17 victory. Lole Mamea held court from the service line during that run, and Manaia Mamea had a pair of kills to help HIU's cause. The Warriors also had five attack errors to aid HIU's momentum.
In set two, the Royals fell into an 19-13 hole, but climbed back, scoring 12 of the last 15 points to take the 25-22 victory. HIU was incredible from the service line during the comeback, as both Lole Mamea and Manaia Mamea served up three consecutive aces to help HIU build a 21-20 lead.
With the score tied at 22-22, Genevieve Kertz posted a kill and Nua followed with back-to-back aces to power HIU to the win.
The Royals dominated set three as they hit a match-best .316 (15-3-38). They turned a modest 9-6 lead into a blowout, tallying nine straight points to lead by 12. Galassi had five kills in the set. After the Warriors closed to within 22-15, the Royals earned the last three points to win 25-15.
The Warriors fell to 5-13 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
HIU continues GSAC action on Saturday, hosting Arizona Christian at 1:00 p.m. in Darling Pavilion.
