SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Morgan Cole posted a team-high 15 kills and Callie Bickmore added 13 to lead ninth-seeded Vanguard past Saint Katherine in four sets at the 2023 NAIA Women's Volleyball Championship on Thursday at the Tyson Events Center.
Set scores went 25-20, 25-20, 16-25, 25-22 as the Lions opened Pool H with their 26th straight victory and improved to 28-1 on the season. The Firebirds fell to 0-2 in pool play and ended their season at 30-5 overall.
Cole delivered six of her 15 kills in the decisive fourth set, including three straight to set up match point.
The Lions hit .286 or higher in three victorious sets and finished at a .270 clip for the match. Bickmore hit .276 (13-5-29), while Adeline Galvanoni and Bailey Olbur each had seven kills in surpassing the .300 mark. Viktoria Dickson also had a solid match with eight kills and six digs, hitting .263 (8-3-19) overall.
VU's setter tandem of Rachel Lim and Madeline DeLucia combined for 52 of the team's 55 assists and three of the four service aces.
In the back row, libero Natalie Escher totaled a match-high 12 digs and defensive specialist Blair Dodge chipped in 10.
Galvanoni and freshman middle blocker Kayla Robinson led the charge at the net with five block assists apiece.
The stats supported a closely contested match in which the Lions held slight advantages in kills (55-51), assists (55-47), digs (51-49) and blocks (7.0-6.0).
Addison Metts led the Firebirds with 16 kills, while Naomie Cremoux tallied 13 kills and nine digs. The Firebirds hit .262, coming on strong over the final two sets after tallying .222 and .200 attack percentages over the first two sets.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The Lions broke out to a 9-5 lead thanks to a number of Saint Katherine attack errors and service errors. The Firebirds responded with a 4-0 run to tie the score for the first time at 9-9.
The two teams battled through four more ties before Vanguard seized momentum. The Lions utilized a 6-2 run to turn a 13-13 tie into a 19-15 lead, getting kills from Bickmore, Robinson and Dickson during the surge.
Saint Katherine answered by scoring four of the next five points to trim its deficit to 20-19 and force a VU timeout. The Lions committed three attack errors during that stretch to aid the Firebird comeback.
However, the Lions got three straight kills from Bickmore out of the timeout to open up a 23-19 lead. Cole hammered a kill to take VU to set point. The Firebirds staved off one set point on a Haily Murray slam, but Olbur squashed any notion of STK completing the comeback with a kill. VU ended the set on a 5-1 run to take the 25-20 victory.
VU hit .346 in the first set with 13 kills and just four errors in 26 attempts.
Set 2 – The Lions were in control from the get-go, racing out to a 12-5 lead behind three kills from Cole. The Firebirds scored seven of the next 10 points to slice the deficit down to 15-12, but they would get no closer.
The Blue and Gold grabbed the leverage back with effective passing and DeLucia finding multiple hitters, with Galvanoni, Dickson and Robinson registering kills to give VU the 19-13 lead.
Saint Katherine made one last gasp to get within 23-20, but the Lions benefited from a Firebird service error and Galvanoni found the floor as VU earned an identical 25-20 triumph.
The Lions upped their hitting percentage to .353 with 16 kills and only four errors in 34 swings.
Set 3 – Vanguard took another early lead and appeared ready to follow a similar blueprint to victory, but the Firebirds responded better this time around.
The Lions led 10-5 and 13-8 before watching the Firebirds answer with a 12-1 run. VU burned both timeouts in an attempt to settle down, but Cremoux tallied three kills and Metts added two more as the Firebirds controlled the action.
Saint Katherine ended up scoring 17 of the last 20 points to win 25-16. The Firebirds hit .345 while the Lions struggled to a .114 clip.
Set 4 – Challenged to overcome a momentum shift, the Lions did just that in a tightly contested fourth set. The Firebirds led by a point on five occasions – the last at 6-5. The score was tied at 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8 when the Lions reeled off three straight points on two STK attack errors sandwiched around a Bickmore kill.
The Firebirds rallied to tie the score at 12-12 and the two teams remained even at 14-14. VU stretched the lead back to three, 17-14, as Robinson, DeLucia and Cole knocked down kills.
Coming out of a timeout, STK reeled off five of the next seven points to forge the ninth tie of the set at 19-19. VU called timeout, and Olbur and Dickson traded kills with the Firebirds as the two teams fought through the 10th and 11th ties.
With the score deadlocked at 21-21, the All-American Cole took over as she produced VU's next three kills to get the Lions to match point at 24-22. DeLucia hit the tape on the next serve and the ball toppled over the net, hitting the floor for a service ace and a 25-22 VU victory.
The Lions outhit the Firebirds .286 to .275.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions have responded in high pressure moments in each of the last three matches, resulting in wins in the GSAC Tournament Finals, the NAIA Opening Round and the first match of pool play at the Final Site.
What Was Said?: "Tonight was a great first match to start the tournament," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "We started so strong with a lot of error free volleyball but we really have to work through our lulls quicker. I'm proud of us getting back in sync in set four. Callie and Morgan really set the tone for us to start out the match and Natalie was excellent in both passing and defense."
What's Next?: The Lions meet No. 8 seed Missouri Baptist to close out pool play on Friday at 2:00 p.m. (PT). The winner of that match will finish atop Pool H and will advance to the single-elimination portion of the bracket in the quarterfinals.
