HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – In the Lions (3-15) final home matches of the year, the Blue and Gold made history as they swept their first tri-match in the programs inaugural year. First, Vanguard took down Benedictine (9-8) 5-0 before besting Hope International 4-1. The Pride has four more matches remaining on the season, all away from the Southern California region.
Karli Burk said above all, today was rewarding. "It was so rewarding to see our hard work that we put into our other tough matches pay off today against other first year programs. It's exciting to see, as the NAIA beach program progresses, the potential our program has for the future."
Vanguard 5, Benedictine 0
Kayla Tinker and Gabby Morrison cruised to the victory on court one over Jackie Woods and Kat McCullough by 21-12 and 21-13 counts. The second pairing of Kelli Dowell and Hannah Holder won by 21-14 and 21-18 scores against Kassie Renteria and Kina Mirzapour. Duo number three, Dani Erdelatz and Charity Dennis took care of the opposition 21-11, 21-12 as they knocked off Megan Block and Dani Burke. Eliana Johnson and Karly Cantu won 21-10, 21-19 won court four, topping Sydney Nelson and Caitlan Sammons. The fifth team featuring Burk and Bree Belton dropped the first set 18-21 before rallying to win 21-14 and 15-10 to capture the victory. The exhibition pairing of Mackenzie Mitchell and Angel Carroll were defeated 19-21, 20-22 in game action against Ariah Evans and Destiny Ramirez.
Vanguard 4, Hope International 1
After initially dropping the first frame 24-26, Tinker and Morrision fought back to win 21-12 and 15-13 over Megan Armstrong and Shea Beeman. Pair two – Holder/Dowell – won by identical 21-12, 21-12 counts over Maddy Barrett and Hailey Manliguis. In dominating fashion, Erdelatz and Dennis took care of Natalie Hadden and Paula Alfarez 21-4, 21-9. The duo of Johnson and Cantu were victorious 21-16, 21-15 against Camryn Rowell and Taylor Pearson. Burke and Belton were bested 19-21, 22-24 by McKenna Lumlen and Anna Stevenson. During the exhibition game, Carroll and Mitchell fought back from a first set loss (10-21) to win 21-16 in set number two before ultimately falling 12-15 at the hands of Measha Lindstrand and Casey Greene.
Next Match: Friday, April 20th against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (10:00 AM) and Feather River College (12:00 PM)
-GOLD PRIDE-
