SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Hope International lost in GSAC men's volleyball action on Saturday to Arizona Christian by scores of 25-20, 25-19, 25-16 at The MacArthur Center.

The Firestorm hit .391 (44-10-87) for the match, edging the Royals in kills (44-29) and service aces (5-2).

Alessandro Spendolini led the Royals with 10 kills, the sixth straight match he reached double-digits. Jah'mi Jeter added eight kills and  Hugo Gonzalez Gutierrez had six.

Benjamin Antonio handed out 22 assists, while Jeter and Steve Tong had a team-high seven digs.

For the Firestorm, Caeden Salmen led all players with 13 kills.

HIU kept it close in set one, trailing by two at several points until a 4-1 ACU run opened up a 20-15 lead. Jeter's kill pulled the Royals within 23-20, but the Firestorm ended the set on back-to-back Salmen putaways.

After four early ties in set two, ACU's 4-0 burst created a 15-9 advantage. Trailing 18-12, the Royals stepped up with a 4-0 run to climb within two, aided by solo blocks from Jeter and Gonzalez Gutierrez.

HIU still trailed by just two, 20-18, but the Firestorm rattled off five of the next six points to win set two 25-19. Salmen and Jack Hubbard had two kills apiece down the stretch.

The Royals gave up a 6-0 run early in set three to fall behind 12-5, and the Firestorm eventually doubled them up at 20-10. Four service errors and eight attack errors hampererd HIU as the Firestorm won 25-16.

HIU dropped to 2-9 overall and 1-2 in the GSAC. OUAZ improved to 7-3 and 2-1 in conference play.

Following 11 straight matches away from Darling Pavilion, the Royals turn their attention to their home opener against Simpson on Wednesday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m.