FULLERTON, Calif. – The Vanguard women's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories to kick off the HIU Summer Slam on Friday, defeating Benedictine Mesa in four sets and sweeping Evergreen State at Darling Pavilion.
The Lions improved to 4-2 on the season. Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) had two outstanding matches, hitting a combined .347 (32-7-72). VU hit a season-best .279 (52-18-122) as a team against the Geoducks.
What Happened?
Vanguard 3, Benedictine Mesa 1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19)
Cole led the Lions with a dominating 14-kill, 20-dig double-double in the four-set triumph over Benedictine Mesa. It was the second double-double of her young career. She also hit a season-best .367 (14-3-30) for the match.
Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) and Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) distributed the ball equally with 19 and 18 assists, respectively. VU hit .218 for the match and held the Redhawks to .089 efficiency. The setter duo also combined for five service aces.
In addition to Cole, other Lion offensive contributors included Adeline Galvanoni (FR/Chandler, AZ) with eight kills and seven from Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA), who did not commit an error in her 15 swings and hit .467 overall.
The freshman trio of Cole, Galvanoni and Hill accounted for 29 of VU's 45 kills.
Natalie Escher (SR/Redlands, CA) tallied 12 digs and Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) added 11 in the backrow.
In set one, Vanguard stormed to a 25-15 victory, hitting a match-best .278 (13-3-36) in the frame. The Lions reeled off the first six points of the match to put the Redhawks into an early hole. Cole had four kills in set one. Benedictine Mesa closed within two at 14-12 following a 5-2 run, but the Lions answered with four straight points to open up an 18-12 advantage. Lim served out the set with an ace.
The Redhawks knotted the score with a 25-22 set two win. The Lions went up early as Cole's kill produced a 5-3 lead. But an 8-1 Benedictine run put VU in an 11-6 hole, and the Redhawks never relinquished the lead. VU fought back with a late 4-0 run to close within 23-20, but Kylie Bartel's kill sealed the win for Benedictine.
Benedictine rode the momentum to take a 4-0 lead in set three, helped by three straight Lion attack errors. But kills from Galvanoni, Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) and Hill tied the score at 6-6. VU took its first lead at 8-7 on a Hill kill. Benedictine tied the score at 11-11 on a Laylah Daniel putaway, but that's when VU created some separation. Four straight Redhawk errors gave the Lions a 15-11 lead. VU led by at least three points the rest of the way, as DeLucia finished off the set with an ace for the 25-18 victory.
Cole led the Lion charge in set four with five kills. But the Lions got other contributions as a kill from Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) opened up a 6-3 VU lead. Viktoria Dickson (FR/Chula Vista, CA) posted her lone kill of the match to keep VU in front, 8-6, starting a 4-0 run that ended with a Dodge ace and an 11-6 lead.
The Lions maintained their five-point advantage at 15-10, but Benedictine reeled off five straight to knot the score at 15-15. The Redhawks got no closer, as Cole's back-to-back kills in addition to two Benedictine attack errors put VU back in control at 19-15. Galvanoni set up match point with her eighth kill, and Daniel's attack error cemented the 25-19 victory.
Vanguard 3, Evergreen State 0 (31-29, 25-22, 25-22)
Thanks to a career-best 18 kills on .333 hitting (18-4-42) from Cole, VU earned its second win by sweep on the young season with three tightly played sets against Evergreen State.
Hill was outstanding as well, hitting .500 overall with 10 kills. Through two matches at the HIU Summer Clam, Hill is hitting .484 with 17 kills and just two errors in 31 attempts. Fernandez flirted with a double-double, finishing with eight kills and 11 digs.
DeLucia tallied 14 assists while Lim had 12.
The Lions won the statistical battle in kills (52-45), assists (47-37), digs (51-44) and aces (6-4).
Cole dominated with seven kills in set one to stake VU to a 31-29 victory. Cole accounted for three of VU's first five points with kills as the Blue and Gold led 5-4. The Lions extended their lead to three at 14-11 on a kill from Fernandez. Evergreen State bit into the deficit, trailing 15-14 following a VU attack error. The Lions strung together three straight points to lead 18-14, but the Geoducks answered with three in a row to close within one.
Ten ties ensued from there as both teams went back and forth. The Lions had a chance for set point when Galvanoni's kill made it 25-24, but a service error on the next play tied the score. VU had seven different chances for set point, another at 29-28 on a Hill solo stuff of a Zoe Shaw attempt. The Geoducks forged another tie at 29-29 on Hannah Jongen's solo block. But the Lions managed to shut the door with a kill from Hailey Petersen and a Geoduck attack error.
The second set was another tight affair that featured eight ties and six lead changes. Freshmen firepower once again was on display with six kills from Hill in the frame. Back-to-back smashes from Hill gave VU an 8-6 edge, but Shaw would provide the Geoducks a 10-9 lead with a kill of her own. Evergreen State owned up its largest lead of three points, 16-13, on a Lily Stewart kill. The lead remained at three, 19-16, when the Lions snatched momentum with a 5-0 run helped along by two kills from Hill and one apiece from Fernandez and Cole. The Geoducks reduced the deficit to one on three different occasions, but watched Galvanoni put down her third kill in the frame to reach set point. Dodge served up an ace to give VU the 25-22 set two win.
The Lions pulled away late in set three. The two teams fought to an 11-11 deadlock, when VU used a 7-2 burst to up 18-13, helped along from two Galvanoni kills. However, the Geoducks did not break, going on a 6-1 run of its own to grab a 19-18 lead. Three kills from Shaw gave the Geoducks new life. Dodge's second ace of the match tied the score, and VU took a 20-19 lead on Cole's kill.
Evergreen State tied the score at 20-20, but the Lions scored the next four points to get to match point. Cole, who scored five of VU's final six points, terminated her 18th kill of the match to provide VU the 25-22 win.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions gained more momentum in their second tournament of the season after knocking off a pair of top-10 opponents last week. VU faced deficits at various points in both matches, but managed to pull through in key situations.
What's Next?: VU meets two ranked opponents on Saturday, playing No. 8 Northwestern College at 10:30 a.m. and No. 24 Dordt at 3:30 p.m.
