ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – The Soka Lions put together a strong showing on Thursday night, April 3, winning a competitive second set and pushing Park University Gilbert in stretches before falling 3-1 (6-25, 25-23, 11-25, 12-25).

After a slow start in the opening set, the Lions responded with one of their most complete stretches of the season. In the second set, Soka opened with a 4-0 run behind Takayuki Toyama's serve, including a kill and an ace. Contributions from Kenichi Price and Diego Caceres helped Soka weather Park's mid-set comeback, and late kills by Toyama and a block from Caceres and Daniel Yoshimura sealed the 25-23 set win.

Toyama paced the offense with five kills and added two aces and seven digs. Aiden Chen followed with four kills and five digs, while Price chipped in three kills, two aces, six digs, and a block. Caceres recorded two blocks and an ace, and Yoshimura tallied 14 assists and a block assist.
 
The Lions closed out their inaugural season honoring seniors, Kenichi Price, Daniel Yoshimura, Takayuki Toyama, and Ryan Kim.