FULLERTON, Calif. – Hitting a season-best .368 for the match, the Vanguard women's volleyball team ran its winning streak to seven with an impressive 25-14, 25-18, 25-12 win over Hope International in a tidy one hour and two minutes on Friday at Darling Pavilion.
The Lions improve to 16-5 overall and maintained their grip on first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference at 6-1. VU shares the GSAC lead with Westmont, which swept San Diego Christian on Friday.
Vanguard's .368 hitting percentage was the program's highest in a match since a .386 effort at OUAZ on Sept. 29, 2018.
VU dominated every statistical category, including kills (44-29), assists (40-26), aces (10-2), digs (49-37) and total blocks (6.0-2.0). The Lions held the Royals to .099 hitting.
A balanced offensive attack keyed the Blue and Gold's success as Hailey Petersen (SR/Omaha, NE), Cambria Fernandez (SR/Northridge, CA) and Morgan Cole (FR/Bakersfield, CA) each posted nine kills, with all three hitting above .300. Petersen led all Lions with .750 (9-0-12) efficiency.
Callie Bickmore (JR/Auburn, CA) added seven kills, while Payton Darm (SO/San Juan Capistrano, CA) and Delaney Hill (FR/Foothill Ranch, CA) chipped in five apiece.
The setter duo of Madeline DeLucia (JR/Happy Valley, OR) and Rachel Lim (SO/La Palma, CA) handed out 22 and 16 assists, respectively. Blair Dodge (SO/Aliso Viejo, CA) led the effort in the backrow with 11 digs. It marked her fifth straight match with double-digit digs and her 12th overall this season.
Dodge and Fernandez each tallied three aces.
Carissa Wiles collected a match-high 12 kills for the Royals.
The seven-match win streak is VU's longest since reeling off nine straight during the 2019 season.
What Happened?:
The match started with an exchange of points until the two teams settled into a 7-7 tie. The floodgates opened from there as VU bulldozed its way to six straight points, with Fernandez and Petersen combining to stuff a pair of Royals on consecutive plays during the run.
VU maintained a six point edge at 18-12, then scored five in a row to expand the lead to 11 points as Darm slammed a kill. Natalie Escher (SR/Redlands, CA) finished off the 25-14 set one win with an ace.
Petersen and Cole had four kills apiece, while Fernandez and Darm tallied three each. Petersen hit.667 (4-0-6).
The second set began similar to the first, with a close battle resulting in an early 6-5 HIU lead. VU went on another one of its patented scoring runs, firing off five straight points to take a 10-6 lead as Darm, Petersen and Fernandez pounded kills.
HIU scored four of the next six points to pull within two at 12-10. However, the Lions responded with a 5-2 run to force an HIU timeout.
Trailing 17-12, the Royals emerged from the break with consecutive kills from Cassidy Koffroth and Savannah Salter to pull within three. But VU answered with three consecutive points, including back-to-back kills from Hill to wrest back control of the set.
HIU briefly toyed with the idea of a comeback, narrowing the gap to 20-17, but VU took five of the final six points. The Lions ended the frame on another ace, this time by DeLucia for the 25-18 victory.
Fernandez led the way in set two with four kills, while Petersen had three. Petersen hit .700 with seven kills in 10 errorless attempts through two sets. The Lions hit .378 in the second set and held the Royals to a .158 mark.
VU and HIU continued the pattern of exchanging blows with five ties early on. The last tie occurred at 9-9 and that's when VU used a massive 10-1 run to create an insurmountable 19-10 lead. During the onslaught, the Lions were aided by four service aces and pair of kills from Bickmore.
Back-to-back kills from Cole and a Dodge ace contributed to a 5-0 run that got VU to match point at 24-11. HIU staved off one match point on a VU service error, but Bickmore's slam closed out the 25-12 victory. VU hit a sizzling .524 with 12 kills and only one error in 21 swings. Conversely, HIU managed to swing at just an .077 clip.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions have won four of their last five, and five of their last seven matches by sweep in vaulting to the top of the GSAC. It was the fourth straight win for VU at Hope International. The Lions are also 4-0 on the road in conference play this season.
What Was Said?: "Tonight we played error free volleyball," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "We had a specific plan and mission coming in, executed everything to a "T" and kept errors at a minimum. Couldn't ask for anything more."
What's Next?: The Lions host The Master's on Saturday at Orange Coast College. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
