MESA, Ariz. – The Hope International men's volleyball team put up a fight, but ultimately fell on the road in four sets to Benedictine Mesa in GSAC action on Saturday.

Set scores went 25-20, 23-25, 29-27, 25-12.

Senior Jah'mi Jeter tallied a career-high 17 kills, adding nine digs and three service aces.

Alessandro Spendolini notched 11 kills and 12 digs for his fifth double-double. Spendolini has amassed double-digit kills in nine straight matches.

In the back row, Steve Tong posted a match-high 16 digs. The Royals employed their 6-2 system as setters Sam D'Ambrosio and Benjamin Antonio handed out 22 and 16 assists, respectively.

The Royals (3-11, 1-4 GSAC) held advantages in service aces (9-6), assists (45-44) and digs (55-48), but the Redhawks outhit HIU .231 to .088. BENU also won the blocking battle 13.0-8.5.

BENU (6-8, 4-1 GSAC) broke out to a 5-1 lead in set one following an HIU service error and four consecutive attack errors. The Royals trailed 16-9, but took four of the next five points to pull within 17-13. The two teams exchanged mini three-point runs as the set progressed to 20-16 in favor of the Redhawks.

HIU pulled within three points on three occasions, but BENU tallied the final two points on HIU's 12th attack error and a Chase Jensen service ace to win 25-20.

The Royals recovered in set two to pull out the 25-23 triumph. HIU took a 5-2 lead – aided by three Spendolini kills – then built an 11-6 advantage following two straight Jeter slams and an Antonio putaway.

The Redhawks answered with a 5-2 run to creep within 13-11, but the Royals scurried away following three straight points, which included an assisted block from Antonio and Travis Donahue.

BENU got as close as 24-23, but Spendolini posted his sixth kill of the set to give the Royals the victory.

A series of big runs defined set three. HIU sped out to a 4-0 advantage behind two kills from Hugo Gonzalez Gutierrez, a Jeter service ace and another kill by Sean Seaman. BENU had a 6-0 run that erased a five-point deficit in favor of an 11-10 lead.

HIU trailed 20-15, but five straight points leveled the set at 20-20 as BENU helped the Royals with four consecutive attack errors. The Royals faced set point trailing 24-22, responding with a Jeter kill and two straight Jeter aces to take a 25-24 lead. Ryder Kelley staved off set point with a kill for BENU, but Seaman and Antonio stuffed Travis Kelly on the next play to bring about the second set point at 26-25.

An HIU service error tied the score at 26-26, and BENU took a 27-26 lead following a block assist of its own. However, Spendolini found the floor to knot the score again at 27-27. BENU's Maurice O'Brien's kill and an HIU attack error ended the set with the Redhawks taking the 29-27 victory. HIU had its best hitting percentage of the match at .226, while BENU had its worst at .143.

The Royals fell apart in set four as the Redhawks stormed out to leads of 9-4 and 13-6. HIU had just five kills in set four and hit -.167 (5-9-24). The Redhawks hit at a blistering .455 (12-2-22) rate. BENU ended the match with four straight points to win 25-12.

HIU returns home to battle Cal Lutheran on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.