ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — The Soka University men's volleyball team continued GSAC play with a road match at La Sierra on Tuesday and a home match against Hope International on Thursday. The Lions are now 1-11 overall and 0-7 in GSAC play.
La Sierra 3, Soka 0
The Lions fell on the road, dropping a three-set decision 25–18, 30–28, 25–14.
Soka gave its best effort in the second set, trading points in an extended back-and-forth that reached a pair of late ties before the hosts pulled away 30–28. The Lions led at multiple points in the set and fought off a late deficit, but could not close it out. The first and third sets were more controlled affairs in the visitors' favor.
Offensively,
Isaac Jeremia led Soka with nine kills on a .250 hitting percentage, while
Kamohoalii Chan added seven kills.
Andres Chavez and
Corban Tidwell each contributed four kills.
Jacob Marquez ran the offense with 24 assists and added one service ace. Marquez also contributed at the net with one solo block and one block assist.
Soka totaled six blocks, including two solo blocks and four block assists. Jeremia registered one block assist, Tidwell posted one solo block, and
Christian Obergfell added two block assists.
Defensively, Obergfell led the team with nine digs, followed by Chan with six and Jeremia with three.
Hope International 3, Soka 0
The Lions returned home two days later but fell in straight sets 25–23, 25–11, 25–23.
Soka was competitive in the first and third sets, keeping both within two points at the final horn, but were blown out in the second set as the visitors used a dominant service run midway through to build an insurmountable lead.
Kamohoalii Chan paced the offense with seven kills and added four service aces — including a remarkable run of four consecutive aces in the third set that pulled Soka to within a point at 11–11 before the guests regrouped.
Christian Obergfell added eight kills on a .500 hitting percentage, and
Corban Tidwell contributed five kills.
Jacob Marquez again directed the offense with 23 assists. Obergfell chipped in a solo block, while Tidwell and
Andres Chavez each added two block assists.
Defensively, Marquez recorded six digs to lead the team, followed by Obergfell with four. Soka totaled 29 digs as a team.
