SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Vanguard women's volleyball team battled Westmont on the road Friday and came away with a 25-17, 25-13, 25-17 loss at Murchison Gymnasium.
The Warriors moved to 19-4 overall on the season and 13-2 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Lions fell to 19-10 and 9-6 in conference play. VU is tied for third in the conference standings with Jessup.
Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) led the Lions in both kills (10) and digs (9) as she just missed a double-double. Adeline Galvanoni (FR/Chandler, AZ) posted six kills with Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) and Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) logging four apiece.
Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) and Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) collected seven digs each. Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) and Lim handed out 12 and 11 assists, respectively.
VU hit .070 for the match. Westmont finished with .337 hitting efficiency.
What Happened?: Vanguard trailed 9-6 in set one but went on 3-1 run to pull within 10-9. Westmont had a 4-0 surge to go up by five and force a VU timeout. The Lions thought they pulled within three at 17-14, but a key reversal on a call reopened a five-point lead. Alexis Dennick put away a kill on the next play to make the score 19-13.
Westmont's run extended to 22-13 – the largest deficit of the set for the Lions – but a 4-0 VU run trimmed the gap to 22-17 as the Warriors regrouped in a timeout. VU's momentum was tripped up with a service error out of the timeout. Westmont followed with an ace and VU closed the set with an attack error, losing the first set 25-17.
Westmont sprinted out to 4-0 lead in set two before Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) stopped the run with a kill. The Warriors extended their lead to 8-2 as four VU attack errors helped their cause.
VU cut the deficit to 12-7, but four Westmont kills contributed to a 6-0 burst and 18-7 advantage. The Lions burned their final timeout in hopes of quelling Westmont's momentum, but managed to get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Warriors scored the final three points to close out set two by a 25-13 score. Cole led the Lions with four kills in the set. VU managed to hit just -.027 while Westmont countered at .375 (14-2-32).
The Lions put forth their best effort in set three as they hit .226 (11-4-31) and led midway through the frame.
Phoebe Minch, who led all players with 12 kills, helped Westmont to a 3-0 lead with two kills and a solo block.
Fernandez, Petersen and Cole posted kills to create a 3-3 tie. Both teams traded sideouts and Vanguard held leads of 9-8, 10-9, 11-10 and 12-11. Galvanoni got hot with four of her six kills during that stretch.
Cole's kill helped VU cling to the 12-11 lead, but Westmont took control from there. The Warriors led 17-13 following a 6-1 run that prompted a VU timeout.
The run eventually became 8-1 as two VU attack errors widened the gap to 19-13.
The Lions fought back to within four at 19-15 but a VU service error and a Taylor Distelberg kill extended the lead back to six as the Lions called their final timeout.
However, VU could not muster a run as Westmont scored six of the final eight points to take the 25-17 victory.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions fell from the No. 2 seed to the No. 4 seed as far as seeding for the upcoming GSAC Tournament in two weeks. VU still has time to climb the ladder with three matches remaining.
What's Next?: The roadtrip continues in Santa Clarita as VU takes on The Master's Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
