Benedictine Mesa battled through a tightly contested conference matchup Wednesday evening but fell to La Sierra in four sets, 26-28, 25-21, 25-19, 26-24, at the La Sierra Alumni Pavilion in Riverside, California.
The Redhawks opened the match with their strongest set of the night. Benedictine built an early advantage before La Sierra battled back, setting up a back-and-forth finish that featured 10 ties and six lead changes. With the score even at 26-26, Benedictine closed the set on consecutive points, including a block by BellaRose Branconier and Janae Moore followed by a kill from Sophie Drollinger, to secure the 28-26 victory. The Redhawks hit .268 in the opening frame with 14 kills and four blocks.
La Sierra responded in the second set, using a mid-set run to create separation. Benedictine trailed 15-7 before putting together a push of its own, eventually cutting the deficit to 24-21. La Sierra answered with the final point to take the set 25-21 and even the match at one set apiece.
Benedictine started quickly in the third, holding leads of 6-3 and 9-6 before La Sierra turned the momentum. The Golden Eagles moved ahead 11-9 and later used a 6-0 run to build a 20-14 advantage. Benedictine continued to battle but couldn't erase the deficit, falling 25-19 to trail 2-1 in the match.
The Redhawks responded with another strong start in the fourth set, jumping ahead 5-1 and eventually extending their advantage to 12-6. La Sierra gradually worked its way back, tying the frame at 17-17. Benedictine regained the lead several times down the stretch and fought off match point with a Drollinger kill to tie the score at 24-24, but La Sierra captured the final two points for the 26-24 set victory and the 3-1 match win.
Marley Cortez led Benedictine offensively with 11 kills while hitting .280, while Kylie Malone added 10 kills and seven digs. Drollinger finished with eight kills, 11 digs and a team-high three service aces, while Camille Collins contributed seven kills on an efficient .462 hitting percentage along with four block assists.
Taylee Wilson and Kiara Milar directed the offense with 18 and 20 assists, respectively. Adina Ortiz led the defensive effort with 15 digs and added two service aces, while Sophie Schonauer recorded 12 digs. As a team, Benedictine finished with 44 kills, 74 digs, seven service aces and nine total blocks.
