Eutectics Open 2023 Campaign in California, Dropping Two

The 2023-24 volleyball season got underway for the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Eutectics on Friday afternoon in Fullerton, Calif. The Eutectics were part of the 12-team 2023 Summer Slam at Hope International University's Darling Pavilion. Head Coach Katie Payne and company's first match was against Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) followed by an evening contest against the host team.

The season opener against the Rocky Mountain saw the Bears sweep the Eutectics, 25-10, 25-15, 25-19. The women from St. Louis jumped out to a quick 3-2 advantage, but the Bears went on an 11-0 run. UHSP's Amber Loo pounded out a pair of kills as the Eutectics scored four of the next seven points to make it 16-7. Brooke Ark followed with back-to-back aces for Rocky Mountain as the Bears took eight of the final 11 points to claim the opening set 25-10.

With the first set of the new season out of the way, the Eutectics settled in a little bit in set two. Darlene Zediker returned to the lineup this year after an injury kept her out last season and opened the second set with a kill. Three early service errors by the Bears fueled the momentum for the Purple and Gold. Freshman Hanna Burch's first kill of her college career made it 6-5 RMC. The Bears went on a 4-1 run, but the Euts answered by scoring three straight thanks to kills from Loo, Jenna Brinson and another RMS error to bring the margin to 10-9 Bears. The two teams traded points before Rocky Mountain scored six consecutive to gain command of the second set at 17-10. Another Zediker kill and a pair of RMC errors closed the gap to 17-13, but eight of the final 10 points went the way of the Bears for a 25-15 set win.

The third set was a test of fortitude for the Eutectics after they fell behind early, 6-1, 8-3 and 10-4. But UHSP got a kill and an ace from another freshman in Sumanpreet Kaur followed by another Bears error. Loo added a kill and another ace in a 4-2 sequence that favored UHSP with Zediker and Burch teaming up for a block to score one of the points in that run. Josie Barrand had two aces in a stretch that saw the two teams trade six points and the Eutectics were in a fight for the third set, trailing 17-14. Rocky Mountain would score eight of the next 13 points to claim the set 25-19 for a three-set win.

Darlene Zediker led UHSP with six kills while Amber Loo and Hanna Burch each had five. Josie Barrand paced the Eutectics with a dozen digs while Jenna Brinson added 14 assists. Kaitlyn Wood had 10 kills to lead Rocky Mountain, Blythe Sealey had 22 assists and Brooke Ark notched 23 digs. The Bears had only three more attacks than UHSP, but tallied twice as many kills at 44-22. The Bears served up 15 aces to five for the Eutectics.

With the first match of the season under their belts, the Eutectics had a break before they were scheduled to play the hosting Hope International Royals (2-3) for an 8pm (CDT) match, which was delayed nearly an hour. Once finally on the court, the Royals took three straight sets from the Euts to win the match 25-12, 25-8, 25-17.  

After a 4-4 start in Set 1, a string of Eutectic errors allowed the Royals to pull ahead 16-9 before Darlene Zediker and Sumanpreet Kaur (2) notched three kills in a row. The momentum, however, quickly returned to the home team, who won the next eight points in a row to take the set at 25-12.  

The HIU team maintained that momentum in the second set, coasting through the first 10 points served by Caron Florez before a kill by UHSP's Amber Loo stopped the bleeding for the Purple and Gold. Another HIU six-point run, including three kills, an ace, and a block, put the Royals up 22-4. Despite their efforts, the Eutectics could not seem to get any offense going and were unable to dig themselves out of the hole, eventually dropping the set at 25-8.

UHSP matched up early with the Royals in the third set, tying it up at 3-3, then at 11-11 after a service ace by Kathryn Trickey, a kill from Macy Hendrix, then two HIU errors. Jenna Brinson's kill put the Euts up 16-15 before the Royals offense found another gear, notching five kills and an ace to go up 21-16. HIU dropped one more point off a service error, but claimed the last four points in a row, finishing with an ace by Chloe Mata to take the set at 25-17 and win the match, 3-0.

The Royals' offense pounded down 43 kills on 93 attempts, while their defense recorded eight blocks and 58 digs.  

Darlene Zediker earned four of UHSP's 15 kills, while Jenna Brinson put up nine assists in the match. Josie Barrand picked up seven of the Euts' 32 digs.

The Eutectics have two more matches scheduled for tomorrow, starting with Northwest University (Wash.)(1-2) at 10 a.m.(12 p.m. CDT). Then, at 2 p.m. (4 p.m. CDT), they'll take on The Master's University (Calif.)(5-1).