SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Despite a defeat at Westmont last night, the Vanguard women's volleyball team rallied Saturday night on the road against The Master's Mustangs. The Lions were pressed into extra rallies in both the third and fourth sets but remained stout enough to soldier on and take the match three sets to one, with scores of 25-18, 18-25, 27-25, and 28-26. The Lions improve to 20-10 overall and 10-6 in Golden State Athletic Conference action. TMU falls to 12-10 overall and 7-8 in GSAC play.
What Happened? The Lions did not hit well in the first set per se, but the squad used some clutch defense to nab a first-set victory. Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) smacked down the game's first kill, and the Lions would hold a lead over the first few rallies. Adeline Galvanoni (FR/Chandler, AZ) put her first kill down to give VU a 6-4 edge, and that triggered an 8-1 stretch that pushed the lead to 14-5. Victoria Verceles (SR/Long Beach, CA) had two aces during the run and both Bickmore and Galvanoni also registered kills. The Mustangs then got a few points but they made some errors that prohibited their chance to make a bigger dent in the lead. Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) poked down her first kill of the night to make it 18-12, with VU getting a 21-13 lead via an ace by Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR). Vanguard made a few errors of their own down the stretch but two kills by Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) would hand the Blue and Gold set one 25-18. The Lions hit .033 in the period, while TMU hit -.083.
VU went ahead 2-0 to open the second set but The Master's soon leveled the score at 2-2. Kills from Fernandez and Bickmore propped the Lions up but TMU erased both leads. The hosts then sprinted ahead to an 8-5 advantage and the Lions battled to reel them in, eventually knotting the game at 10-all. The wheels then bobbled some, as the Mustangs again jumped away, improving their lead to 15-10. Vanguard called a timeout but it did not stem the tide, as TMU would get the next two points out of the break. The Lions called another timeout and Fernandez was able to put a kill down to stop the streak, but the Mustangs would grab a few more points to lead 20-11. The Blue and Gold pushed to get back into the set, rolling off five unanswered points, but The Master's would claim four of the final six points to win the second set 25-18. TMU hit .154 in the frame and VU hit at a .079 rate.
DeLucia opened the third with two straight aces and Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) delivered a kill as part of a 5-1 run to start the third. Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) and Fernandez put down kills to make it 9-3, with the lead reaching 12-4 off a pair of Galvanoni strikes. The Master's then restarted their engine, rolling off a 9-3 hot streak that made it 15-13 Vanguard. Petersen helped to end the run with a kill and Bickmore followed her example and put down a strong one of her own. Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) then added in three straight aces to make it 19-13 VU. However, the Mustangs would again make things interesting by racking up a 9-5 run that forced a 24-24 tie and bonus time in the third. A kill by Fernandez put the team ahead but the match would soon be tied again at 26-26. Petersen gave the Blue and Gold a lead with a quality kill and a bad set by the Mustangs gave VU the third set 27-25. Vanguard hit -.029 in the period, while TMU hit .115
The Mustangs, facing defeat, made the first lunge by going up 5-1 to start the fourth set. However, the home side made enough errors that Vanguard was able to counter the run and tie the match at 5-5 in short order. But another thrust would come from the Mustangs, as they would press the issue and go ahead 13-6 on the back of an 8-1 run. Yet the pendulum would come back the other way, as the Lions came back with an 8-1 streak of their own. The teams then exchanged points but two aces from Fernandez put Vanguard ahead 18-16. TMU then eliminated the slim VU lead and tied the set at 19-all, as the back-and-forth nature of the period continued. The Lions seemed to have the set in the palm of their hand, as an ace from Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) put the squad ahead 21-19. But the Mustangs were not done, as the home side rallied to tie the set at 24-24 for the second set in a row. The Blue and Gold had two attempts to put the set away but TMU tied the score each time. But on the third try, kills from DeLucia and Petersen gave the Lions set four 28-26 and the match 3-1.
Vanguard hit .050 for the match, with 44 kills and 37 errors on 139 attempts. TMU hit .101 for the night. The Lions had the lead in kills (44-37), assists (42-30), aces (16-4), and digs (53-46) on the evening. Galvanoni had 10 kills and only three errors to pace the squad, with Fernandez and Cole each collecting eight kills. DeLucia had 17 assists and Lim had 16. Dodge had 13 digs to lead the way, with Lim next with 12, netting her a double-double. Petersen had four block assists to lead the Lions in that department, with Fernandez and Darm next with three each.
Why is it Important?
VU improves to 33-26 all-time against The Master's and sweeps the season series for the first time since 2017. Life Pacific was in non-conference action tonight, so the Lions remain tied with LPU for second in the standings, with the tiebreaker currently in Vanguard's favor. Jessup won tonight as well, moving them into the mix at 10-6 in GSAC play. The win makes this VU team the first squad to reach 20 wins since the 2019 and 2018 squads, the third time a team has hit that plateau under Head Coach Jennifer Dorn.
What was Said? "Tonight's numbers were not big on the stat line but our hearts were huge," said Dorn. "This match was about sheer will and vying for the best ranking we can get heading into the conference tournament. We are thrilled to get this tough win on the road."
What's Next?
Vanguard will face LPU on the road for seeding and a potential bye in the GSAC Tournament next, with the match slated to start at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 4.
