Benedictine University Mesa

The Benedictine Mesa women's volleyball team battled through a five-set GSAC thriller on Saturday afternoon at the PEC but ultimately fell to Hope International 3-2. The Redhawks claimed the second and third sets before the Royals rallied to win the match, 26-24, 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13. 

Benedictine showed resilience throughout the afternoon, overcoming an opening-set loss to take control of the match. The Redhawks responded by winning the second set behind a strong serving stretch and carried that momentum into the third frame, where they hit .389 as a team to move within one set of victory. Hope International answered in the fourth set, edging the Redhawks 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set. The two teams traded points throughout the final set before the Royals closed out the match with the final three points to secure the conference victory. 

Sophie Drollinger led the Redhawk attack with a match-high 21 kills while adding 13 digs for a double-double. Addy Green also reached double figures with 13 kills, and Marley Cortez contributed eight kills while hitting .455. Janae Moore finished with seven kills, and Lili Casbarian added a late kill off the bench. 

The Redhawks received strong play from their setters as Taylee Wilson recorded 25 assists and Kiara Milar added 18 assists. Milar also made an impact from the service line with a team-high five aces, while Adina Ortiz collected four aces and 15 digs. Benedictine finished the match with 15 service aces compared to eight for Hope International. 

Defensively, Ortiz paced the back row with 15 digs, while Drollinger added 13 and Sophie Schonauer chipped in 10. Benedictine totaled 54 digs and held a significant advantage from the service line, but Hope International used 61 kills and a balanced offensive effort to outlast the Redhawks in five sets.