SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Vanguard women's volleyball program pocketed two more wins at the Saint Katherine Tournament Saturday. The Lions took down Michigan-Dearborn 3-1 and followed that up with a sweep of the hosting Firebirds. The wins put VU at 9-4 overall heading into conference play.
What Happened?
VU 3 UMD 1
The Blue and Gold had a successful launch in the first set, taking the first five points. Viktoria Dickson (FR/Chula Vista, CA) continued her emergence as part of the starting lineup, getting the first kill of the day. Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) had two aces as well, as the Wolverines took an early timeout. The break helped reset UMD, who looked much more engaged after the timeout. The Wolverines would march back to tie the game at 8-8 and then 9-9 before claiming the lead for themselves. Vanguard called a timeout trailing 17-11 but could not make an indent into the lead, with Michigan-Dearborn leading 19-13. Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) then pasted a ball to the court and the kill changed the flight conditions for the Lions for the better. Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) collected four aces over eight trips behind the service line, and along with a kill from Cole and some errors from UMD, helped the Lions come out of the stall and take a 22-19 lead. The Wolverines would tie the match at 22-all but the next three points would all go to VU. Two attack errors by Michigan-Dearborn and a kill from Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) allowed Vanguard to take set one 25-22. The Lions hit .130 in the frame and UMD hit .154.
The Lions held an early 2-0 edge in the second but UMD would streak away to a 9-4 lead, forcing Vanguard to take a timeout. The team responded with a couple of good runs, with the Wolverines hurting themselves with plenty of attack errors. VU tied the game at 13-13 and would keep the Wolverines in range over the next few rallies. However, Michigan-Dearborn would push through the turbulence and went on a 10-2 run to claim the second set 25-17. VU hit -.038 in the second while UMD hit .182.
The Blue and Gold outdueled the Wolverines in the third, as both offenses hit solidly throughout the period. Tied 3-3, the Lions went on a 9-4 run to take a 12-7 edge. The Wolverines would challenge that lead during the middle stages of the set, with four ties occurring between the two sides. The Wolverines got to 20 points first but Cole smoked a ball to keep it close at 21-20. Cole would soon gain another kill to make it 22-21 and an attack error by UMD made it 22-22. Lim then collected another ace and Cole finished off the set with a kill and an ace to claim the period 25-23. VU hit .333 while UMD hit .211.
Michigan-Dearborn got shut down in the final frame, as UMD hit .062. The Lions would hit at a .310 rate and were up 6-1 to start the fourth. The Wolverines then got a pair of points but Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) threw down three kills over four rallies, with Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) chipping in an ace as well. UMD called a timeout but could not get into the slipstream, as a 10-4 run by VU put the Lions ahead 20-7. Dickson closed out the match with the final two kills for VU, as the Lions took the set 25-14.
VU hit at a .190 rate in the match and had a 43-27 edge in digs. Cole led the team with 12 kills, Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE) was next with 10, and Hill was third with eight. DeLucia had 27 assists and Lim had 16 to go with her six total aces. The dig count was by committee, as three players (Lim, Dodge, and Jessica Yamamoto (SO/Aiea, HI) each had seven, and three others (DeLucia, Victoria Verceles (SR/Long Beach, CA), and Cole) each had five.
VU 3 USK 0
The Lions started the second match of the day right where they left off, forcing three attack errors by the Firebirds. The hosts soon had a trio of points on the board but kills from Bickmore and Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) put VU ahead 7-3. USK then came to life, as the Firebirds would swing out to a 13-10 advantage. The score then bounced back and forth but it would be Vanguard who hit full-throttle at the end. Petersen put the team ahead 18-17 and Cole and Darm helped to increase the lead to 21-19. A couple of errors by Saint Katherine put VU ahead 24-19 and a few rallies later, Dickson took a feed from Dodge and buried the shot to take set one 25-21. VU hit .206 while USK hit .028.
The two teams exchanged points to start the second, with no one able to fly off until it was 9-9. USK then floated away to a 14-10 lead but the Blue and Gold were soon on level terms again thanks to Darm and some more USK errors. Dickson then blasted a ball to put VU ahead 17-15 and force USK to take a timeout. The Firebirds got back into contention and the score would be locked up until it was 22-all. But at the moment of truth, Cole made two kills, Darm made one, and an attack error from the Firebirds saw the Lions win set two 25-22. VU hit .188 while USK hit .032.
The numbers continued to favor the Lions in the third, as the Firebirds were held to a -.043 attack percentage in the final set, while the Lions hit .259. DeLucia got an ace to start the third and the Firebirds then beat themselves up, as the attack errors mounted. A 9-2 run by the Lions to open the frame would slowly be converted into a 20-9 lead. Hill, Darm, and Dickson got the final kills for the Lions, as VU claimed the third set 25-15 to complete the sweep of the Firebirds.
Vanguard hit .215 for the match, with Dickson leading the way with 13 kills. Cole was next with 12 and Bickmore was third with seven. DeLucia had 26 assists and Lim had 14. Cole had 11 digs to collect a double-double and pace the lineup. Lim and Dodge each had seven digs, as the squad claimed a 41-25 edge in digs for the match. USK hit .011 for the contest.
Why is it Important?
Coach Dorn collects her 100th win as the Head Coach at Vanguard with the win over the Firebirds. It took Dorn just over four regular seasons to get this achievement. Even though the 2020 season was shortened, every other year the Lions have been over .500 under Dorn and have collected at least 13 wins. She also had a 25 and 26-win campaign to boost her progress towards 100 victories. The next benchmark is the all-time win total of 126 held by former VU coach and current USK coach Eryn Leja.
VU played its first match against UMD Saturday and the program is now 4-1 against the Firebirds all-time. Vanguard has only one non-conference game left on the docket, with Golden State Athletic Conference play starting next week. The Lions have only lost to ranked teams, including two in the top-10 in the current NAIA rankings. VU is the only ranked team in the GSAC and currently has the most wins in the conference.
What was Said?
"This weekend was a full team effort working through four matches with players out due to injuries," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "It was not the best quality volleyball for much of the tournament but we got the job done. We had some great performances from the new players on the team. Petersen, Bickmore, and Yamamoto were steady throughout the whole weekend as well. We are just looking forward to some rest and preparing for our first GSAC weekend."
What's Next?
The Lions will be at home for the first time next weekend and will play Jessup at Calvary Chapel High School at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9.
