Tavares, Fla. – The final day of the AVCA Small School Championships hosted at Hickory Point Beach saw #1 Vanguard University (12-8) and #2 Ottawa University of Arizona (13-3) square off for the national crown once again. In the Semifinal Round, the Blue and Gold battled the opposition and the weather as they navigated a lightning delay. It did not affect their play on the sand as they bested Webber International University (9-5) in straight sets 5-0.
What Happened? Elimination play began between the top seeded Lions and the fourth seeded Warriors. Conley Harris (JR/Brea, CA) and Natalie Escher (JR/Redlands, CA) quickly dismissed the opposition by 21-11,21-6 scores; Kayla Tinker (SR/San Clemente, CA) and Carly McKinney (SR/Mission Viejo, CA) did not have much trouble winning 21-17,21-9 on Court Two. Kenzie Bouse (SR/Willard, MO) and Hally Herder (SO/Highlands Ranch, CO) booked the Pride a trip to the National Championship, winning 21-17,21-12. Pairs Three and Four were pushed to the third set but came out victorious. Vashti Elias Romero (SO/Redlands, CA) and Sydney Irwin (SO/Moorpark, CA) won 21-16,15-21,15-9. Cambria Fernandez (FR/Northridge, CA) and Emilee Hall (SO/Redondo Beach, CA) took care of business 21-16,15-21,15-9.
In the Championship Match, the Pride once again were facing their conference foe OUAZ, for the third time this season. The old adage of "you can't beat the same team three times in a season" rang true. Herder and Bouse were the first pair to go final, as they claimed matching 21-17 wins on Court Four over Brittany Western and Andrea Edwards. The dual was evened out as Flight 2 went to OUAZ; Katia Dizon and Abbey Willison knocked off Tinker and McKinney by 21-16,23-21 counts. After Claire Nenninger and Mia Lara won on Court Five 21-13,25-23 the Lions needed to win out. Top Pair Harris and Escher fought back from a 16-21 opening set loss to win 21-13,15-9. It all came down to the duo of Romero and Irwin – who won 21-15 to start the flight. OUAZ won the final two sets to claim their second AVCA Small School Championship in a row.
In the Pairs Challenge, Mackenzie Mitchell (SR/Costa Mesa, CA) and Kynzey Mitzel (FR/Tigard, OR) were the second seed in the Silver B Bracket. They faced off against Grace Turner and Faith Hill from Hendrix College going well into bonus points at 23-25 in the first set before being eliminated 21-19.
Why It's Important? This is the second time the Lions and Spirit have met in the finals of the AVCA Small College Beach Championships (2019). Additionally, this is twice in a row that the two programs have met with a trophy on the line, as Vanguard escaped 3-2 in the GSAC Championship last week. The two squads had a 3-3 historical record entering the match, so the deadlock is now broken, as the Pride's three in a row record is snapped. Vanguard has now earned the AVCA Small School Championship Runner-Up crown twice.
Top Performers: Today, the team won seven of the 10 matches and was 16 for 20 throughout the tournament. They lost nine sets and won 15 which brought their weekend totals to 34 victories and 12 losses. As a team, they scored 740 individual points throughout the four matches and allowed 651. Pairs Harris/Escher and Fernandez/Hall dropped only one of the nine sets they played.
What They Said: Head Coach Kris Dorn - "We are disappointed. This year has had so many hurdles, and we are so proud of our ladies for cultivating a team mindset of adapting and overcoming through vision, assertive play, and steady mindset. Right now we need to feel the bite of not finishing. Later we can look back on all of the many highlights that we've accomplished during a very tough year. We went undefeated in conference and won the first GSAC title; That is where we will build from.'
What's Next: The team will return to Costa Mesa on Sunday with their third trophy of the month as they conclude the best year in the program's four-season history.
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