COSTA MESA – Perseverance and resiliency were on full display for the Vanguard women's volleyball team Saturday night at Orange Coast College. It wasn't pretty, but the Lions outlasted The Master's in five sets to take over sole possession of first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Set scores were 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 17-15.

In overcoming a two sets to one deficit, the Lions (17-5, 7-1) extended their winning streak to eight straight matches. Coupled with Westmont's five-set loss to Life Pacific on Saturday, the Lions sit in first place by one game over both Warriors squads.

VU's 7-1 conference start is the program's best through eight matches since opening 8-0 in 2015.

Nothing came easy for the Lions on a night they managed to win the fourth set despite hitting -.122. VU hit .081 overall for the match, one night after posting a season-best .368 effort against Hope International. However, VU played exceptional defense in limiting The Master's to .109 efficiency.

Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) tallied a match-high 16 kills and added 11 digs for her eighth double-double this season. Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) posted 11 kills and nine digs, while Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) had 10 kills and four blocks.

Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) notched a double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs.

Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) tied her career high with 10 blocks to lead VU defensively at the net.

Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) finished with a match-high 36 digs – the most by a GSAC player in a single match this season. The 36 digs also ranks No. 3 all-time in VU single-match history.

The Master's had a trio of players finish with double-digit kills – Jessica Swenning (14), Faith Tarver (13) and Ruby Duncan (12). Swenning hit an impressive .519 as her 14 kills came on 27 swings with no errors.

What Happened?: Vanguard got off to a solid start in set one, building a 10-3 lead to force a Mustang timeout. The Master's regrouped and fired back with five straight points to cut the deficit to two.

Cole and Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) tallied back-to-back kills to give VU a 12-8 lead, but the Mustangs went on a 6-0 tear to go up 14-12. Karli Stults served a pair of aces during the run. The Lions eventually caught TMU at 16-16 but the Mustangs scored four of the next five points.

TMU took a 23-20 lead on an Emily Clark kill. Two TMU errors brought VU within one, but Swenning's kill and a Lion error closed out the first set, 25-22 in favor of the Mustangs.

Set two showcased VU's mettle, as the Lions fought back from a five-point deficit to win. TMU utilized a 7-2 run to turn a 4-4 tie into an 11-6 lead as Tarver banged down a pair of kills. VU reeled off four straight points behind Cole's two kills and a Cole-Darm combo block to pull within one at 11-10.

The teams exchanged points and battled through eight ties until the score hit 20-20. Three straight VU points forced a TMU timeout, but a slew of late Mustang errors set up Fernandez for the clinching kill as the Lions took set two, 25-21.

The third set was back-and-forth but TMU seemed in control as Breanna Brooks pounded a kill for a 12-7 lead. The Lions cut that deficit to one with a 4-0 run, culminating with a Darm-Bickmore stuff. The Mustangs still led by one, 18-17, but the Lions scored the next four points to grab a 21-18 advantage.

VU's lead was short lived though as the Mustangs stormed back with six straight points with Stults serving effectively. Aaralyn Nicholls put down a kill to give TMU a 22-21 lead as VU called timeout, but the stoppage did not help as the Mustangs scored on an ace and a VU error.

Another VU error gave TMU the third set by a 25-22 score.

In set four, VU appeared to be coasting to an easy victory, but both teams traded incredible runs to create a dramatic finish. With VU leading 11-10, the Lions went on an 11-0 scoring surge as Dodge commanded the serve line for a 22-10 advantage.

The Lions remained in front at 23-11, but the Mustangs did not quit. In fact, TMU answered with an 11-0 run of its own to cut VU's lead to 23-22. The Mustangs got kills from four different players and went on a blocking spree during the run. The final point of the run occurred when VU was called for being out of rotation.

VU burned both timeouts during that stretch, but the Lions dug deep to pull out the win. Adeline Galvanoni (FR/Chandler, AZ) and Darm teamed up to stuff Brooks, and a TMU error secured the 25-22 set four victory.

The drama of set four paved the way for an exciting fifth set – and true to form – the teams were tied 7-7. An ace put TMU up 8-7 at the change over, but the Lions clawed back with three straight points for the 10-8 lead.

The Galvanoni and Darm connection prevailed at the net again as they tag teamed to block Brooks for the 13-10 edge. TMU responded with a 3-0 run, two on kills from Swenning to knot the score at 13-13.

The score remained tied at 15-15, when the Lions got the final two points. Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) set up match point with a kill, and she combined with Bickmore to block Tarver to end the exhausting two and a half hour contest.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions did not play their best volleyball, but overcame adversity in victory as they overtook first place in conference.

What Was Said?: "Tonight wasn't about volleyball but sheer will," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "We were not playing great volleyball tonight and everyone was deficient in one of their areas of responsibility, but, we really stepped into relying on each other as a team and where someone was deficient, someone else stepped up. Really proud of the teamwork tonight. Want to shout out Blair Dodge, who was extremely consistent tonight and passed nails for us."

What's Next?: The Lions return to action on Saturday, October 8 against San Diego Christian. First serve at Orange Coast College is 7:00 p.m.