GLENDALE, Ariz. – Hope International men's volleyball fell in four sets to Arizona Christian on Saturday in the 2026 season finale. Set scores were 14-25, 25-22, 17-25, 19-25.

The Royals finished the campaign 7-17 overall and 5-9 in the GSAC.

Alessandro Spendolini registered team-highs with 13 kills and four blocks to cap a tremendous sophomore season. The outside hitter finished with a team-best 299 kills and totaled double-digit kills in 16 of 20 matches played.

Jah'mi Jeter and Travis Donahue added nine kills apiece with Donahue swinging at a .615 (9-1-13) clip. Jeter also chipped in a pair of service aces.

In their final matches as Royals, setter Sam D'Ambrosio dealt out 38 assists and Hugo Gonzalez Gutierrez had eight digs.

The Firestorm received a match-high 17 kills from Jarrett Spartz. ACU hit .317 (48-15-104) as a team compared to .112 (44-31-116) for HIU.

The Royals hung around in set one, trailing just 11-8 but surrendered four straight points to fall into a seven-point hole. HIU was down 20-14 as ACU reeled off the final five points, the last two resulting from HIU attack errors. ACU hit .433 (15-2-30) in set one while the Royals struggled at .107 (8-5-28).

HIU shifted momentum in set two, playing its best set of the match with .312 (17-7-32) hitting. Spendolini and Jeter produced four kills apiece in the frame.

Spendolini had three kills in HIU's first four points. Back-to-back kills by Benjamin Antonio and Donahue got the Royals out to a 6-2 lead. An HIU triple block by Donahue, D'Ambrosio and Spendolini, followed by a Donahue kill opened up a 14-9 lead and forced an ACU timeout.

HIU maintained the lead for the remainder of the set, although a 4-0 Firestorm run cut the deficit down to 19-17. Antonio, Donahue and Sean Seaman delivered late kills to stave off the Firestorm rally and take set two 25-22. 

ACU (12-8, 9-5) geared back up in set three and hit .391 (13-4-23) to HIU's .192 (12-7-26). The Royals started off well, building a 6-4 lead with Spendolini and Antonio posting a pair of kills each.

But the Firestorm registered a 7-1 run to create an 11-7 lead and force an HIU timeout. The run eventually ballooned to 13-2, as the Firestorm led 17-8.

HIU had a late 4-0 run to creep within 23-16, but two straight service errors ended the set 25-17 in favor of ACU.

Set four was sloppy with ACU hitting only .200 (10-5-25) and HIU swinging at a -.167 (7-12-30) clip.

Four straight HIU attack errors helped the Firestorm to a 14-9 lead. Spartz had two straight kills and another HIU attack error opened up a 17-12 ACU advantage.

ACU blocked the Royals on match point to take the 25-19 victory.