SAN DIMAS, Calif. – Callie Bickmore slammed a career-high 15 kills to lead the 11th-ranked and top-seeded Vanguard women's volleyball team to a 25-15, 25-21, 25-23 sweep over The Master's in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday at Life Pacific.
Bickmore, who was named to the All-GSAC Team on Tuesday, hit .500 (15-3-24) and also produced a career-best six digs to go along with three blocks.
Fellow All-GSAC choice Morgan Cole chipped in 10 kills and eight digs, while Adeline Galvanoni and Viktoria Dickson had six kills apiece. Galvanoni and Dickson hit efficiently with .333 and .308 lines, respectively.
The Lions dominated at the service line with 11 aces – tied for second-most in a match this season – with Rachel Lim and Blair Dodge dropping in three apiece.
Lim handed out 23 assists, while Madeline DeLucia had 12 more to go along with a pair of aces. Natalie Escher collected a team-high 10 digs and had two aces of her own.
VU had the edge in nearly every statistical category, including kills (40-33), assists (36-26), aces (11-1) and digs (43-31).
The Lions (25-1) extended their school record winning streak to 23 straight and won their 13th match by sweep.
The fourth-seeded Master's, which received a team-best nine kills from Ruby Duncan, ended their season at 18-12.
What Happened?
Set 1 – TMU started out with two-point leads at 5-3, 9-7 and 10-8 thanks to a strong block. The Lions got a solo block from All-GSAC middle Bailey Olbur as part of a 4-0 run that gave VU a 12-8 lead.
The Mustangs tied the score at 12-12, but the Lions cruised from there, producing a withering 8-1 run to gain full control. Lim and Dodge dealt a pair of aces each during the surge.
VU scored 13 of the final 16 points with DeLucia delivering the final kill in the 25-15 triumph. Neither team hit very well, but the Lions produced five aces in the set.
Set 2 – Bickmore was huge with eight kills as VU upped its hitting percentage from .100 in set one to .343 in set two. The outside hitter was responsible for four of VU's first five points via three kills and a solo block as the Lions established a 5-2 lead.
DeLucia's ace made it 6-2 as TMU called timeout. DeLucia dropped in her second straight ace out of the timeout for the 7-2 advantage, but the Mustangs fought back with five of the next six points.
Both teams traded sideouts until a TMU solo block left VU clinging to an 11-10 lead. The Lions briefly opened up three-point cushions at 13-10 and 14-11, before two Breanna Brooks kills allowed TMU to knot the score at 14-14.
The Mustangs eventually built a 7-2 run to take an 18-16 lead. However, the Lions ended the set on a 9-3 run. Bickmore punctuated the finish with three consecutive kills to give the Blue and Gold the 25-21 victory.
Set 3 – Bickmore was crucial again with seven more kills, helping hold off a TMU squad that did not back down.
The Mustangs held small leads for long stretches, going up 9-8 on a kill from Duncan. Bickmore and Cole had two kills each as the Lions kept pace. Two more Bickmore kills and an Olbur slam completed a mini 3-0 run for a 12-10 VU lead.
The Lions maintained a 15-12 edge as a Galvanoni kill forced a TMU timeout. The Mustangs emerged out of the break with four straight points to take a 16-15 lead, as VU burned one of its timeouts. The Lions responded with three straight points thanks to two Faith Tarver attack errors sandwiched around a Cole ace.
The 18-16 VU lead was short-lived as TMU bounced back to tie things at 19-19. But two Dickson kills helped the Lions reopen a three-point advantage at 22-19 as TMU called its final timeout.
VU kept pushing, with a Bickmore kill and Dodge ace leading to match point at 24-20. The Mustangs staved off the Lions with three straight points, two on back-to-back combo blocks from McKenna Brady and Cora Machado.
Clinging to the 24-23 lead, the Lions leaned on Bickmore one final time as she found the other side of the floor for her 15th kill of the match.
Why Is It Important?: A variety of players continue to step up for the Blue and Gold as this was the fifth straight match a different Lion led the team in kills.
What Was Said?: "Tonight was a very exciting match. The Master's came to play and definitely put pressure on us from the service line," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "I'm proud of our team hitting our own service line aggressively with six aces in the first set and Morgan Cole bringing it in set one, hitting .500. We had to earn our points throughout the whole match. Shout out to the beast that is Callie Bickmore."
What's Next?: The Lions take on No. 2 seed Menlo in the GSAC Tournament championship match on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
