Surprise, Ariz. – OUAZ Women's Volleyball celebrated Senior Night with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Hope International on Friday evening inside Faith Arena. The Spirit improved to 21-5 overall and 14-1 in GSAC play with the win, extending their winning streak to nine matches and continuing their push toward the postseason.
In a match that featured 22 ties and 11 lead changes, OUAZ battled through a resilient effort from the Royals to earn the conference victory. The Spirit finished with 58 kills, 55 assists, 74 digs, and six service aces while overcoming a second-set setback to claim three of the four sets.
OUAZ opened the evening with a strong offensive performance in the first set, recording 17 kills and hitting .256. Elisa Saunders paced the attack with seven kills in the frame, while Bella Reach delivered a pair of service aces during an early run. The Royals threatened late, cutting the deficit to 24-22, but Gloria Moye delivered the set-clinching kill to give the Spirit a 25-22 win.
Hope International answered in the second set, taking advantage of several OUAZ attacking errors and using a late run to secure a 25-19 victory. Despite kills from Moye, McKenna Diederich, and Keira Adrian, the Royals evened the match heading into the intermission.
The Spirit regained control in the third set. Trailing 15-12 midway through the frame, OUAZ responded with a 9-3 run fueled by strong serving from Myra Memon and timely kills from Jenna Sarff, Diederich, Saunders, and Bella Reach. The Spirit held off a late Hope International push and closed out the set 25-22 to move within one frame of the victory.
The fourth set turned into an instant classic. OUAZ built a 15-10 advantage before the Royals stormed back to tie the score at 15. Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way as the set featured multiple match-point and set-point opportunities. Trailing 27-26, Saunders delivered consecutive kills to keep the Spirit alive. Moments later, Jenna Sarff finished off the Royals with the match-winning kill, securing a 29-27 victory and the 3-1 match win.
By the Numbers
- Elisa Saunders led all players with 19 kills while hitting .302.
- Gloria Moye recorded 11 kills on a .526 hitting percentage and added three blocks.
- McKenna Diederich finished with nine kills and three blocks.
- Bella Reach contributed seven kills, seven digs, two service aces, and two blocks.
- Jenna Sarff added five kills, including the match-winning kill, and two blocks.
- Keira Adrian recorded four kills, 13 digs, and a service ace.
- Myra Memon anchored the defense with 16 digs and a service ace.
- Norma Ramirez-Barba dished out 31 assists and eight digs.
- Isabella Foutz added 14 assists and seven digs.
- OUAZ finished with 74 digs and held Hope International to a .197 hitting percentage.
Up Next
OUAZ (21-5, 14-1 GSAC) will close out its regular-season road schedule on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Spirit travel to Prescott, Arizona, to take on Embry-Riddle in another GSAC matchup. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. as OUAZ looks to continue its momentum heading into postseason play.
