FULLERTON, Calif. – The second day of the Hope Summer Slam saw the Vanguard women's volleyball program face two ranked teams from Iowa and VU came away with a split decision. The Blue and Gold were held in check by the No. 8 Raiders of Northwestern 3-0 (16-25, 14-25, 16-25), but responded by blanking the Dordt Defenders 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-18). Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) had a strong day, as the freshmen led the team in kills against the Raiders and paced the lineup in digs against Dordt. Upending its third ranked team of the season, the Lions are now 5-3 overall.
What Happened?
NC 3 VU 0
The No. 8 team got the first point of the game but Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) slammed down a feed from Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) to tie things up at 1-1. Cole then got a long run at the service line, as Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) feasted for two early kills, Cole put down an ace, and Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) mashed down one more kill to put VU up 5-1. Bickmore would then extend the lead to 6-2 two rallies later but those two score marks would turn out to be the largest lead the Lions would have all match against the Raiders. Northwestern would soon go on a 12-2 run to flip-flop the script and put VU on the back foot. Cole got a couple more kills later on in the set to give the Lions some hope but the Raiders again raced away, eventually taking set one 25-16. The Blue and Gold hit a match-best .231 in the first.
The Lions got nine kills in both the second and third sets, as the Raiders, who got to the NAIA Tournament Quarterfinals last year, proved to be in good form again this year. VU kept up in the second early on, with Fernandez racking up a couple more kills to keep the score tied at three-all. Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) and Cole also joined in the fun and the Lions were competitively in the set despite being down 10-8. But an 11-3 streak by the Raiders sapped the energy from the team and Northwestern took set two 25-15, with the Lions hitting .029 in the frame.
It was a similar story in the third, as Vanguard marched in stride with the Raiders until it was 8-8. A 8-1 run by NC proved costly, as VU could not catch up for most of the set. Cole had another streak from the service line towards the end, with Adeline Galvanoni (FR/Chandler, AZ), Petersen, and Victoria Verceles (SR/Long Beach, CA) each getting kills to shave the lead to 19-16. However, Northwestern closed the door with six unanswered points to win 25-16, taking the sweep in straight sets. The Lions hit .025 in the final set.
As a team, Vanguard hit .080 for the match. Cole had eight kills and digs, Fernandez had seven kills, and Hill had six kills to lead the team. DeLucia had 12 assists and Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) had eight. Natalie Escher (SR/Redlands, CA) had a strong game in the back row, netting 14 digs to top the squad and set an early season high.
VU 3 Dordt 0
Vanguard shook off a defeat to a top-10 team by showing once again they deserve some national ranking attention in a sweep of Dordt. VU led the major statistical categories except for blocks for the match and did not let the Defenders close towards the end of each set.
An attack error by Dordt and a kill from Cole got the first two points on the board for VU. The Defenders then dug in and ran off four straight to take their first lead, but the Blue and Gold would not let them slip away. Fernandez struck for her first point of the game and Lim put down an ace to give the Lions a slim 9-7 lead. But things then clicked for VU, as Fernandez and Hill extended the lead to 11-9. Cole powered down another ball and more errors from Dordt kept the Lions in the lead. The Defenders remained close but only got to within one point at 18-17. After that, Vanguard used kills from Hill and Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) to stay ahead and get to 20 points first. Back-to-back kills from Cole and Fernandez sealed the first set for the Lions 25-20, despite the lineup hitting .079 for the set (14K, 11E). Dordt hit -.059.
The offense picked up the pace over the next two sets. Cole put the Defenders under duress early, with a kill and two straight aces. Darm and Fernandez then put away a few balls but Dordt remained in the contest. Yet a setter dump from DeLucia sparked a run, as the Lions took a 9-8 lead and increased it to 17-10, with the Defenders burning both timeouts in the process. The Lions showed some resiliency at the end of the set, as both sides committed some attack errors. However, VU made the digs and kept asking Dordt to figure out their defense, which the Defenders were unable to do. A service error gave Cole the ball with a 24-15 lead and she slapped down an ace to put VU in the driver's seat with a 25-15 victory in set two. VU hit .222 in the second, with eight kills and two errors. Dordt hit .091.
The Defenders took a lead in the third with the first two points but Cole then collected two aces in a row to give her team a 3-2 lead. Dordt would take another lead at 5-3 but some errors and a kill by Galvanoni put the Lions ahead again 10-6. Once more, the Defenders answered in kind by putting up six points in a row, forcing VU to take a timeout. The pause allowed the team to reset and it paid dividends immediately, as Hill got VU back on the board with a big kill out of the break. She and Petersen would come alive through the middle stages to put VU ahead 20-15. A Dordt timeout bought them a little time and a couple of points, but they would stall out as the match wound down. Darm and Fernandez got three of the final four points of the set, as the Lions took the third 25-18. VU hit .231 (15K, 6 E) in the frame, while Dordt hit .071 (10 K, 7 E).
For the match, the Lions hit .173 but played so strong in other areas of the game that the low percentage is a little out of context. The serve and receive game for the Blue and Gold shone throughout the second match of the day, as the Defenders struggled to keep up with the Lions in that department. VU had nine aces and only two reception errors in addition to making 52 digs. Fernandez had 10 kills to lead the team, with Cole and Galvanoni next with six each. Petersen and Hill each had five. DeLucia had six assists while Lim had 10. Five other Lions had assists as well. Cole had 13 digs to lead the squad, with Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) next with 11 and DeLucia collecting 10. Petersen and Galvanoni each had four block assists.
What Was Said?
"Today was a great test of heart and resilience," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "We did not put our best effort in against Northwestern. They played error-free volleyball and we did not adjust well to an aggressive service line. We knew we had to bounce back and we did with a vengeance. We dialed into our offensive process and got more aggression from the service line, dictating the pace of the game from the start. An excellent tournament and I am so proud of our team. What I love most about this team is the support from the starters all the way down the line of our bench, and that teamwork showed today."
Why is it Important?
The Lions might not be off to one of the best starts record-wise this year, but this is the first time since 2018 that VU has knocked off three teams inside the top-25 to start the year. VU also continues to have a good feel about Dordt, pushing the series record to 3-0 against the Defenders.
