FULLERTON, Calif. – The OUAZ men's volleyball team picked up their first road win in Golden State Athletic Conference action with a five-set win at No. 8 Hope International on Saturday night.
 
Trailing two sets to one, OUAZ (10-6, 3-4 GSAC) rallied to win the match 25-18, 11-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-13 and record their first win over a ranked opponent in three tries this season.
 
After securing the opening set win with 12 kills and .478 hitting, the Spirit cooled off in the department to finish with 49 kills and hitting .145. The Royals countered with .261 hitting and 60 kills.
 
Jacob Smith would lead the Spirit with 15 kills for his second double-digit kills match of the season. James Yahner added 11 kills and 10 digs while Chris Nero went for a season-high 10 kills.
 
The Spirit were able to slow the Royals attack with their 60 digs. Joaquin Santa Cruz finished with 27 of those digs, nearly doubling his the previous high of 14. OUAZ also tallied eight blocks with Bryan Ilena leading the team with four.
 
HIU had a 6-3 edge in service aces and they totaled 13 blocks and 48 digs. Daniel Bilinski led the Royals with 24 kills.
 
With four wins behind them on the road trip, OUAZ now returns home for a pair of non-conference matches against Menlo and Westcliff on Friday at Willow Canyon High School.