SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Moving back to GSAC competition and breaking a two-game losing streak, the Lions faced off against Arizona Christian (0-5-1) and rival Ottawa University – Arizona (5-2). Vanguard (6-2) swept ACU only losing one set, before beating the reigning AVCA Small School Champions OUAZ for the second time this season 3-2.
What Happened? Against ACU, the Lions picked up their first point on Court Two as Kayla Tinker (SR/San Clemente, CA) and Carly McKinney (SR/Mission Viejo, CA) were victorious 21-13,21-14. Then next flight to go final was Emilee Hall (SO/Redondo Beach, CA) and Allyson Scharrer (FR/Newport Beach, CA) who won in matching 21-17 counts. Top seeded Conley Harris (JR/Brea, CA) and Natalie Escher (JR/Redlands, CA) won 21-14,21-11 to secure the match win for the Pride. Court Three of Vashti Elias Romero (SO/Redlands, CA) and Sydney Irwin (SO/Moorpark, CA) won by 21-19,21-18 margins. The sweep was secured when Kenzie Bouse (SR/Willard, MO) and Mackenzie Mitchell (SR/Costa Mesa, CA) fought back from a 13-21 loss in set one to win 21-16 and 15-8.
Tinker and McKinney got sweet revenge on OUAZ, defeating their Court Two opponents 21-17,16-21,15-13. Hall and Scharrer put the team on top 2-0 in sets as they won 21-18, lost 15-21 before battling for a tough 15-13 victory. After Hally Herder (SO/Highlands Ranch, CO) and Bouse lost 21-12,21-16, the pressure was on Harris and Escher to clinch the victory for the Pride. They did to the tune of 21-13,21-14 scores. With the match decided, Romero and Irwin were knocked off 21-16,19-21,15-11.
Why It's Important? The Blue and Gold gets a brief relief from playing NCAA foes as only one of the four matches they have scheduled the next 14 days are against conference opponents. For the second time this year, Vanguard is above .500 in program history with a 27-26 record across four years. The Lions are 4-0 all-time against the Firestorm and have only dropped five of a possible 43 sets. This marks two consecutive times the Pride has beaten the Spirit, after dropping the first three in program history.
Top Performers: Against NAIA competition this year, the pairs of Harris/Escher and Hall/Scharrer are undefeated while Tinker/McKinney have only lost once. Last time during the victory over OUAZ, it was Harris/Escher, Hall/Irwin, and Romero/Scharrer with the wins. Today, Tinker and McKinney got it done on court two while Romero/Irwin lost in three sets.
What They Said: Head Coach Kris Dorn – "I am very, very pleased with our play this morning. We implemented a lot of what we've been focusing on in practice. And the name of the game is adjustments, and we did that well as the matches went on." After the second game of the day he said, "Once again it came down to the wire with our rival. It's wonderful to see both teams reading each other & strategizing in the moment. Definitely glad we came out on top and we really like how we're improving."
What's Next: Saturday, March 13th against Cal State Northridge at 11:00 a.m.
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