COSTA MESA – Vanguard restored order in a commanding straight set victory over Menlo in Golden State Athletic Conference women's volleyball action Saturday at Orange Coast College.
After a lackluster effort against Jessup less than 24 hours before, the Lions played much sharper and confidently in dispatching the Lions in a tidy one hour and 30 minutes. Set scores went 25-17, 25-22, 25-17. VU improved to 10-5 overall on the season and evened its GSAC record at 1-1. The Oaks fell to 5-5 and 1-1 in conference play.
Vanguard hit .277 overall – the team's third-best hitting percentage in a match this season – and held Menlo to just .101 hitting efficiency. The Lions also had the edge in service aces (8-3), kills (41-27) and digs (40-32).
Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) led all players with 16 kills. The outside hitter swung at a .344 (16-5-32) clip, and chipped in seven digs, two block assists and an ace. Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) posted seven kills on 13 errorless swings to hit .538 for the match.
Jessica Yamamoto (SO/Aiea, HI) had a team-high nine digs and Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) added eight. Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) and Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) divvied up the assists with 20 and 16, respectively.
Menlo received a team-high seven kills from Gabby Mackenzie with six more coming from Katharine Mumm.
What Happened?: Slow starts plagued the Lions in their Friday loss to William Jessup. The Blue and Gold wasted no time in overpowering the Oaks from the get go on Saturday.
VU started set one scoring the first five points. Two kills from Cole, and one apiece from Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) and Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) helped the lead balloon to 10-3. After Menlo sliced the deficit to 10-6, the Lions answered with a 4-0 run to boost the lead back to eight. Menlo never got closer than six points and Hill polished off the Oaks with a kill and the 25-17 victory.
Menlo burst out to a 7-3 lead in set two as McKenzie had a pair of kills. But the Lions responded with a 7-2 run to take a 10-9 lead. Dickson powered down a couple of kills and DeLucia finished the run with an ace. The Oaks briefly tied things at 10-10, but Cole's kill on the next play gave VU the lead for good.
The Lions led 20-16 on a Natalie Escher (SR/Redlands, CA) ace, and the teams traded points until VU had set point at 24-21. Menlo climbed to within 24-22 on a double block to force a VU timeout. The Lions went to Cole and she knocked down the kill for the 25-22 triumph.
In set three, the teams battled through four ties in the early going. Knotted at 5-5, the Lions used a 6-1 burst to go up 11-6 behind the strong serving of Dodge and Lim.
The Lions extended the advantage to 16-9 on a Dickson putaway as the Oaks called timeout. The stoppage in play didn't help as VU took a 21-11 lead on Cole's 16th kill. Hill ended the match with a kill as the Lions walked away with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-17 victory.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions avoided an 0-2 start in GSAC play and resembled the squad that earned a No. 19 national ranking in the latest NAIA poll.
What Was Said?: "Today's match was a nice response from last night," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "We executed well in our offense and it feels good to get our first conference win."
What's Next?: The Lions step back into nonconference play, taking on Chapman on Tuesday, Sept. 13. First serve for the road match is 7:00 p.m.
