ROCKLIN, Calif. – Playing the second half of back-to-back Golden State Athletic Conference games, the Vanguard women's volleyball team took on Jessup Saturday. VU had suffered a surprising defeat at home at the hands of the Warriors and unfortunately, the end result did not change in the reverse fixture. JU swept the Lions 25-18, 25-15, and 25-22. That drops the Lions to 18-8 overall and 8-4 in Golden State Athletic Conference play, while the Warriors improve to 10-8 overall and 7-5 in GSAC action.
What Happened? The Lions went down two to start the match before Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) put away the first kill of the day for the squad. She collected another one and Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) followed her lead, as the middle blocker put down her own kill shot to make it 4-3 JU. Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) would soon toss in an ace to give the Blue and Gold its first lead of the game and Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) slapped down a kill after that to increase the gap to 6-4. The set then evened up from there, as both sides exchanged points until the Warriors pulled out to a 17-14 lead. Vanguard called a timeout but could not flip the field, as JU increased the lead to 22-16. VU scored only twice more, with Fernandez and Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) hitting kills, but the Warriors did not flinch and claimed set one 25-18. The home side closed out the frame on the back of an 11-4 run, with Vanguard hitting .118 for the set, with JU hitting at a .424 rate.
The second set started with an ace from Jessup but Cole evened the score with an emphatic kill. Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) posted an ace to put the Lions ahead, but JU soon leveled the score at 2-2. The Lions claimed a 5-3 edge off another Fernandez kill and two Warrior errors, but the Blue and Gold could not break away. JU put up six unanswered points before another Fernandez strike ended the run. VU got back into the trenches and Petersen and Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) each pounded down kills to even the set at 10-all. But once again, it would not stay even for long. From a 12-12 tie, the Warriors ran the table on a 13-3 hot streak, as JU won the second frame 25-15. VU hit .031 in the set while Jessup hit .407.
The Lions knew they had to rally but the team soon saw themselves down 2-0 to start the third. Fernandez would again get the Blue and Gold on the board, with Petersen and Bickmore also netting kills over the next few rallies. VU would eventually tie the set at 5-5 off another ace from Lim, with Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) putting the Lions ahead 6-5. The lead remained at one until Fernandez put VU ahead 10-9. That started a 6-3 run for the Lions, who got kills from Fernandez, Cole, and Bickmore to put Vanguard ahead 16-12. Another attack error by JU made it a 17-14 lead but the Warriors did not back down. They fired off four straight points to take an 18-17 lead before Fernandez replied to tie the set at 18-all. Cole would restore a Vanguard lead with a kill to make it 20-19 and an ace from Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) put VU ahead 21-19. Jessup called a timeout and whatever was said, it worked brilliantly, as JU scored the next three points. Vanguard called a timeout and got the benefit of a service error to tie things at 22-22. But the team could not get over the hump, as JU scored the final three points to take the set 25-22 and the match 3-0. VU hit a match-best .273 in the third, while JU hit .300.
For the match, Vanguard had 32 kills and 18 errors for a hitting percentage of .141. JU had a .370 attack percentage for the night. VU tied the Warriors in aces (six) and block assists (eight) but otherwise did not lead a stat category. Fernandez had 11 kills to lead the team, with Cole next up with eight. DeLucia had 14 assists and Lim had 10. Cole had 14 digs to lead the team, while both Dodge and DeLucia were next with seven each.
Why is it Important? Jessup swept the Lions during the regular season for the first time in 21 matches played between the two programs. VU still leads the all-time series 18-3. Life Pacific jumped over the Lions in the standings with today's results.
What's Next? The Lions will have most of the week to regroup before playing another set of back-to-back games. They will next host Arizona Christian at Calvary Chapel High School on Friday, October 21, at 4:00 p.m.
