Benedictine University Mesa rallied after dropping the opening set to earn a 3-1 GSAC victory over Arizona Christian on Friday evening at the PEC. The Redhawks bounced back to win the final three sets by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, and 28-26.
After a tightly contested first set went to the Firestorm, Benedictine responded with a dominant performance in the second and third frames. The Redhawks hit .345 in the second set and used a balanced attack to pull away, before opening the third set with a 4-0 run and never looking back on their way to a nine-point set victory.
The fourth set proved to be the most dramatic of the match. Neither team was able to gain much separation as the set featured nine ties and multiple lead changes. Arizona Christian fought off match point and eventually tied the set at 24-24. The Firestorm briefly took a 26-25 lead, but the Redhawks answered with three consecutive points to close out the match. A kill from Janae Moore gave Benedictine match point before a kill from Kylie Malone sealed the comeback victory.
Offensively, Marley Cortez led the Redhawks with 15 kills while hitting .314. Sophie Drollinger added 11 kills and 13 digs for a double-double, and Janae Moore contributed eight kills and six block assists at the net. Kylie Malone finished with eight kills, while BellaRoseBranconier anchored the block with eight total blocks.
The Redhawks totaled 50 kills, eight service aces, 67 digs, and 11 team blocks in the victory. Kiara Milar directed the offense with 23 assists and three service aces, while Dominxie Celaya added 16 assists. Defensively, Adina Ortiz recorded a team-high 17 digs and Sophie Schonauer chipped in 10 digs
