Benedictine University Mesa

Benedictine Mesa women's volleyball opened strong against OUAZ on Friday afternoon, but the Spirit rallied to hand the Redhawks a 3-1 conference loss at the PEC. Benedictine took the opening set 25-23 before OUAZ responded with victories of 26-24, 25-14 and 25-22. 

The Redhawks set the tone in a competitive opening frame that featured nine ties and five lead changes. With the score even at 14, Benedictine used a strong stretch to build a 23-16 advantage. OUAZ answered with six straight points to pull within one, but the Redhawks held on. After reaching set point at 24-22, Benedictine secured the 25-23 victory on an OUAZ service error. 

The second set proved to be another back-and-forth battle. Benedictine trailed 18-16 before putting together a six-point run highlighted by kills from Kylie Malone, Marley Cortez and Camille Collins to take a 22-18 advantage. The Redhawks eventually reached set point at 24-22, but OUAZ responded with four consecutive points to steal the frame 26-24 and even the match at one set apiece.

OUAZ carried that momentum into the third. Benedictine remained within striking distance early, trailing 13-10, before the Spirit pulled away with a 7-1 run. OUAZ closed out the set 25-14 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Benedictine battled back in the fourth and built a 15-9 advantage behind a strong stretch that included kills from Cortez and Malone along with several OUAZ attack errors. The Spirit gradually erased the deficit, eventually tying the score at 16. Neither side could gain much separation from there, with the Redhawks tying the frame again at 22-22. OUAZ then scored the final three points to take the set 25-22 and close out the match. 

Cortez led the Benedictine attack with 13 kills on a .229 hitting percentage while adding five total blocks. Drollinger finished with nine kills and 14 digs, while Malone contributed seven kills and five digs. Collins led the Redhawks at the net with seven block assists, while BellaRose Branconier added five block assists and four kills.

Defensively, Adina Ortiz paced Benedictine with 20 digs, followed by Drollinger's 14 and Sophie Schonauer's nine. Taylee Wilson recorded a team-high 18 assists along with five digs and an ace, while Kiara Milar added 12 assists, five digs and an ace. As a team, Benedictine finished with 13 total blocks compared with eight for OUAZ.