Santa Clarita, CA- On Saturday afternoon, Hope International of Fullerton played a five set thriller with Corban to close out their participation in The Master's Melee. In a match where both teams at times looked dominant, the Royals ultimately fell 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11). The three headed Senior trio of Kassen Boesel, Naomi Iosia, and Sine Schirmer combined for 42 of the Royals' 53 kills.
In the opening set, Freshman Chelsea Ybanez banged out a kill to open the scoring. A point after the Warriors tied it, Iosia stepped back to serve and after hammering out eight straight serves, including three service aces in a row, the Royals had a 9-2 advantage and control of the set.
Iosia and Schirmer each had 3 kills in the set while Ybanez and Boesel put away two kills of their own.
The second set was a complete one eighty from the first set as Corban scored first and a kill from Iosia tying the set. But the Warriors regained the lead and never looked back. At one point, the Royals were down 20-9 before Iosia buried a kill and went back to serve eight straight more times (with two more service aces). When Iosia was done serving the Royals were within four at 21-17. They closed with one before Corban collected the final four points of the set.
Schirmer had 6 kills in the set.
Unlike the first two sets, the third set was anything but determined from the beginning. The set featured 9 ties and 4 lead changes. After Iosia put away a kill to give the Royals the lead at 9-8, HIU appeared to pull away as they built as large as a five point lead and eventually held a 21-17 lead. But a 4-0 Corban run tied the score at 21-21. HIU held a 23-22 lead but after a Corban timeout they closed out the set on a 3-0 run.
Six kills from Iosia was not enough.
The fourth set was all Royals as they lead wire-to-wire. At one point, they built an 11 point lead.
Boesel was 3-3 in the hitting department in the fourth set. Schirmer led with 4 kills.
In the fifth and final set, the Royals were their own worst enemy. The Warriors opened the set with a 6-2 lead but only scored two points thanks to their own hands as HIU had four errors (three hitting and one setting). Hope International would not see a lead or tie the remainder of the match.
When all was said and done, Iosia contributed 15 kills, 14 digs, 2 blocks, and 6 service aces. Schirmer produced 14 kills, 5 blocks, and 8 digs. Boesel hit .385 while putting down 13 kills. Ybanez was good for 8 kills and 3 blocks.
Junior Patricia Flanagan paced the offense with 48 assists.
Senior Casey Issenmann (pictured) ended with a match high 19 digs.
The Royals will finally play at home for the first time on Thursday when they host Kansas Wesleyan in the Darling Pavilion for a rare 2:00 pm matinee.
Source: Royals Sports
Photo: Royals Sports
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