Fullerton, CA- Senior Naomi Iosia(pictured) pleased the home town crowd as she pounded away on Kansas Wesleyan to the tune of 16 kills on Thursday afternoon. The Hope International Royals of Fullerton defeated the Coyotes 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20).
In the opening set, the Coyotes took the early lead and after the Royals forced two early ties, KWU built as large as a 6 point lead before HIU starting chipping away. The third tie of the set came at 15-15 when Senior Casey Issenmann drilled home a service ace. The ace was part of nine straight serves by Issenmann which gave the Royals a lead they would not surrender the rest of the set.
Iosia led with 5 kills in the set. Seniors Kassen Boesel and Sine Schirmer both contributed 4 first set kills.
Freshman Chelsea Ybanez started off the second set with a kill and the Royals were rolling. Though the Coyotes came within one point on numerous occasions, the Royals never even allowed a tie. HIU had 19 kills with just 3 errors as they hit .381 in the set.
Boesel and Iosia dropped in 6 kills apiece in the set. Boesel was still without a hitting error through sets one and two.
KWU went in front to open the third set but the Royals tied it for the third time at 3-3. Then Issenmann stepped back to serve five straight times and HIU built a lead that they would never give up. The Royals built as large as a six point lead before the Coyotes closed to within two at 21-19. But HIU closed out the match with a 4-1 run. Ybanez, Boesel and Iosia all had a kill in the closing run to go along with a service ace from Iosia.
Freshman Amanda Aguilar had a big match with 8 kills and no errors as she hit .533. Boesel finished with a strong 11 kills on .385 hitting.
Junior Patricia Flanagan was on the money with 44 assists.
Digging was a big part of the day for HIU as every Royal contributed at least one dig. Issenmann lead the defensive charge with 18 digs. Iosia and Flanagan both were good for 9 digs.
Head Coach Steve La Rusch stated, "I am pleased with the way we played and it was a nice way to start off the home portion of the schedule. The girls are really starting to know each other and everything is starting to come together."
The Royals now have a week off before they play again next Thursday against Pacific Union. First serve in the Darling Pavilion is set for 7:00 pm.
Source: HIU Sports
Photo: Liza Rozales
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