SURPRISE, Ariz. – The Golden State Athletic Conference women's volleyball tournament started Thursday on the campus of OUAZ. Vanguard, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, took on the No. 6 seed, The Master's, in the third matchup between the two schools this year. The last meeting was not the cleanest of games for VU, but the Blue and Gold were more refined Thursday, winning 3-1, with set scores of 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, and 25-23. The Lions improve to 23-10 overall, with TMU finishing the year at 14-12.
What Happened? The Lions were the first team out of the trench, with Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) putting down a kill on a good pass from Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA). VU remained doggedly in the lead over the first few rallies, as the team kept ahead by one until a kill by Adeline Galvanoni (FR/Chandler, AZ) made it 7-6. The Lions then stormed across no-man's-land, putting up a 7-2 run that pushed the squad ahead 14-8. Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) had two aces during the barrage, with Bickmore slamming down two more kills. The Lions made another short 5-1 thrust later in the set, with Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) and Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) delivering kills to make it 20-13. On the edge of fleeing the field in the first frame, the Mustangs found some reserve strength and countered with a 5-1 stretch of their own. However, a kill from Cole ended the run, with an attack error by the Mustangs putting Vanguard up 24-20. Cole would smack down another kill two rallies later to give the Lions set one 25-21. VU hit .171 in the period, while The Master's hit at a .205 rate.
Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) opened the scoring in the second set but TMU regrouped and snagged the lead from there. Down 4-3, a strike from Galvanoni leveled the score at four-all, with two straight errors by the Mustangs sending Vanguard into the lead. Bickmore once again started the charge, as another kill from No. 7 propelled the Lions on to seven more unanswered points, highlighted by Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) dropping down three aces in a row along the way. The Mustangs once more recovered, putting up a 4-0 run in response. But Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) kicked off another good phase for the Blue and Gold with a booming kill, with VU tagging on three more points in quick succession. Ahead 22-13, things got a little rocky from there, with TMU making a piercing 8-2 streak that saw the Mustangs trim the lead to 24-21. Despite the late push, VU just needed one point, and Bickmore smoked another ball to the floor on the next rally to deliver set two 25-21 to the Lions. Vanguard had its best hitting percentage of the night in the second frame, with 12 kills and two errors netting a .435 attack percentage. The Mustangs hit a match-worst .120, with 11 kills and eight errors.
Unfortunately, the Blue and Gold went from its best offensive set to its worst in the third frame. The period started off nicely for the Lions, who got a kill from Fernandez and an ace from DeLucia to surge ahead 2-0. Galvanoni and Cole delivered back-to-back kills to put the squad ahead 4-1, but the Mustangs gained ground from there, as the No. 6 seed threw down a 9-3 run to take a 10-7 edge. VU got the next two points off of errors to make it 10-9, but another 9-2 streak put TMU ahead 19-11. A Vanguard timeout helped the cause, with Fernandez collecting a kill and an ace to make the score 19-13. A late 4-1 advance by VU made it 22-19, but three straight points by the Mustangs captured the third set 25-19 for The Master's. The Lions hit -.071 in the period, with TMU hitting .152 in the third.
Still holding most of the field, the Lions made another early push to start the fourth, with Hill and Cole helping the team establish a 3-0 edge. But The Mustangs had kept some of the energy they had made in the third, converting that into a spirited 8-1 stretch to snag an 8-4 advantage. A kill from Hill helped the Lions to refocus, with the squad pouncing for an 8-1 run that saw TMU make a number of errors. Ahead 12-9, VU remained ahead over the next few rallies, with Bickmore and Cole posting kills. Despite a couple of flanking maneuvers by the Mustangs, VU held the lead as the set entered the final stages. However, two straight points by TMU would tie the set at 20-20. Cole buried a ball to give Vanguard the lead, but The Mustangs quickly tied the score. The two sides exchanged points on the next two rallies, leaving the score tied at 23-all. But at that critical moment, TMU made another service error which proved to be the difference, as Fernandez pounded down a kill to claim the set 25-23 and the match 3-1 for Vanguard. VU came back to hit at a .238 clip in the fourth, with 13 kills and three errors. TMU hit at a .188 rate.
Vanguard hit at a .162 mark for the match, with 49 kills and 25 errors on 148 attempts. TMU had 50 kills and 24 errors for a .173 attack percentage. TMU had a slim edge in assists at 49-48, but the Lions had the edge in aces (11-8), digs (69-58), and block assists (18-16). Hill, who had a good finish to the regular season, continued her solid form by leading the team with 14 kills. Cole was next with 11 and Bickmore was third with nine. Bickmore had the best individual hitting percentage on the squad, with a .421 rate, as she posted only one error on the night. DeLucia had 20 assists and five aces, with Lim also posting 20 assists and sliding in four aces. Dodge had seven helpers and 26 digs to lead the team. Cole completed her double-double with 14 digs, with Fernandez third with 12. Darm paced the lineup with the only solo block of the game and six block assists, with Bickmore second with four block assists.
What was Said? "Tonight was a solid win," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "From here on out, it's about who can execute the best. We lost our way a bit in the last two sets, having a couple of streaks of errors and bad passes, but it turned around when it mattered the most. Verceles came up big in a shining moment, serving a great ball, then digging a shot in the middle of the court, allowing us to convert the point for the win."
What's Next? The win puts VU in the semifinals and a date against the number two-seeded Jessup Warriors. No. 4 Life Pacific will face No. 1 Westmont to start Friday night's action at 3:00 p.m. PST, with VU and JU following them at 6:00 p.m. PST.
