Santa Clarita, CA — After falling in a marquee matchup last night against #1 Masters University, who has not lost an NAIA matchup since 2024, the Spirit rebounded in a huge way with a 3-set sweep over Hope International. The final score was 25-19, 25-20, 25-16. The early afternoon victory puts the Spirit at an overall record of 7-3 and a 2-1 record in the GSAC.
Graduate student Caeden Salmen, one of the most established outsides in the GSAC, once again lit up the stat sheet. The Anthem native finished with 13 kills on 24 attempts, hitting a stellar .542. Salmen, who's known to have a ridiculous hybrid serve, also added three aces and pushed Royal passers into a frenzy with his serves' consistent movement. One of the most efficient offenses in the country is constantly anchored by none other than its middle blocker group, who showed out on this Saturday afternoon. Junior Treven Clizbe had one of his best games of the year, tallying 9 kills in 12 swings, hitting .667, while also having a phenomenal blocking night with 4 block assists. The former national champion was absolutely painting the sideline in almost every one of his swings. Horatio Maumasi, one of the best hitters in the country, also added 8 kills, hitting an amazing .500 on the afternoon. Maumasi had a couple of his own defensive highlights, including two solo blocks, to cap off the afternoon. Sophomore Madduxx Goron facilitated the offense in an impressive way, adjusting his sets to find several Spirit hitters. The ACU transfer had 38 assists on the afternoon.
Overall, the Spirit had a vital bounce back from last night's loss, outscoring Hope International in almost every category. A steady Spirit attack and a blocking clinic largely controlled the first set. After a back-and-forth set, the Spirit took over late, up 16-14, courtesy of some great plays by freshman opposite Jackson Blair. Blair, in a 5-point swing, contributed a kill and block and forced a hitting error, giving the Spirit a 21-16 lead. After finishing off set 1 via back-to-back Caeden Salmen swings, set 2 carried much of the same story. The OUAZ defense held the Royals in set 2 to a .034 hitting percentage. After taking a 17-10 lead, the Royals stormed back with a 6-to-1 run, forcing several Spirit errors. However, after a quick timeout, the team immediately responded. Up 20-18, Caeden Salmen once again activated some late-set heroics and put away back-to-back swings. Then to finish the set, high flyer Jack Hubbard dented the floor with his own collage of back-to-back kills ending the set at 25-20. Set 3 was all OUAZ. The Spirit was up early, 12-5, then pushed another huge run to go up 20-10. The final point of the set was one of the most unique plays of the year, as freshman middle Marco Transfiguracion came in to pass back row and dimed a Royal jump serve to set up a great put-away by his middle buddy Owen Draeger. The celebration that followed put a huge exclamation point on a great afternoon.
The Spirit return back home to Faith Arena with one of their toughest stretches of the season that includes 4 home games in a 7-day span. The team starts this home stretch against Viterbo on Tuesday, March 10th, at 6pm. Then again, on Thursday, March 12th against new GSAC foe LA Sierra University at 6pm.
