ASHLAND, Ore. -- Vanguard women's volleyball opened the 2023-2024 athletic year with a pair of matches, taking on Simpson and Oregon Tech at the Raider Invitational.  The Lions were resolute in winning 3-1 in each contest, taking down the Red Hawks 21-25, 27-25, 25-18, and 25-19.  VU then beat the Owls 25-19, 22-25, 25-16, and 25-11.  The Lions start 2-0 on the year and will feature in a twin bill on Saturday against two top-20 NAIA teams.
 
What Happened?
VU 3 Simpson 1
The Blue and Gold were the stronger defensive team against the Red Hawks, as Simpson hit .027 in the match and never cracked .200 in a single set.  The Lions also had more total blocks (17-13) and digs (68-55) than Simpson over the course of the match.

Callie Bickmore had the first kill of the season and the Vanguard lead grew to 9-3 in the opening set.  Simpson would rally to narrow the gap and used a 7-3 stretch to flip the board in their favor to the tune of a 20-18 lead.  A kill by Morgan Cole and an attack error leveled the opening set at 20-all but the Red Hawks closed out the set on a 5-1 run to claim set one 25-21.

Despite the initial setback, Vanguard grew into the match and conquered the next three sets.  VU took a 6-1 edge to start set two before Simpson responded to level things at 9-9.  The second set was in Simpson's hands at 22-19 but Adeline Galvanoni started a run with a kill and Kayla Robinson put the Lions up 25-24 with a well-placed swing.  The Red Hawks forced two ties over the next few rallies but strikes from Delaney Hill and Cole put the second period away, as the Lions won 27-25.

The third set began with short runs from each team, but the period would soon be tied at 9-9 once again.  But just one mistake would prove to be the difference, as an attack error by Simpson unlocked the door for the Lions.  Ahead 10-9, VU dashed away with a 9-3 run to solidify a 19-12 lead.  Hill and Alister Borabo helped to end the period with kills, as the Lions won 25-18.

Simpson came out in the fourth set and rattled off a 7-1 hot streak to put the pressure back on the Navy and Gold.  But the Lions proved they had plenty left in the tank, as the gap came down to one point at 14-13 after back-to-back Red Hawk errors.  Simpson was able to recover briefly to tag on a few more points, increasing the lead to 19-16, but they would not score again.  Hill bashed a ball to the floor and Vanguard forced three attack errors and picked up four more kills the rest of the way to erase the deficit and win 25-19.

VU hit .158 in the match and Galvanoni paced the lineup with 12 kills, hitting .458 in the match with only one error.  Cole had 10 kills and a team-high 21 digs, with Hill third in kills with nine.  Madeline DeLucia had 23 assists to lead VU and Blair Dodge was second on the squad with 20 digs.
 
VU 3 OIT 1
The Vanguard offense found second gear in the second match, hitting .266 for the contest.  DeLucia started off the first frame with three-straight aces and the Owls never recovered.  Ahead 10-8, the Lions used a 10-4 stretch to run the score up to 20-12.  The Owls responded by scrapping together a run of their own to slim the lead to 23-19 but kills from Cole and Viktoria Dickson allowed the Lions to take set one 25-19.

Vanguard led early in set two behind kills from Galvanoni and Cole, but the team would lead only one more time during the second set.  VU was never out of it by any means, forcing four ties and never trailing by more than three points, but OIT made some good plays that allowed the Owls to hold on for a 25-22 victory in the frame.

The Lions used that bitter taste to fuel a 6-2 start to the third, with Bailey Olbur pocketing four kills over the first eight rallies. VU led from the start and never looked back, converting a 13-10 lead into a 25-16 victory, with Jenesis Rios getting an ace to secure the final point of the frame.

The fourth was a similar story, as VU got three-unanswered points to start.  The lead quickly rose to 12-5 and a 10-2 streak from there put the Lions comfortably in the lead with a 22-7 advantage.  OIT got a few points towards the end, but kills by Kate Phillips and Hill concluded the match, as VU grabbed the fourth set 25-11.

OIT hit .140 for the match, while Vanguard earned a .266 rate.  Galvanoni led the team with 18 kills, as she hit .317 for the match with only five errors.  Cole had another double-double, with 15 kills and 12 digs, while  Olbur had 12 kills and two errors for a .417 attack percentage. DeLucia had 31 assists, a match high, while Rachel Lim had 21 helpers.  Dodge had 17 digs and DeLucia and Escher each had 16.  Robinson had two solo blocks to lead the lineup.
 
What was Said? Head Coach Jennifer Dorn was quoted as saying, "We are starting to find our identity and chemistry.  Our first match was pretty rough around the edges and we were also trying different people in different positions to make sure we know all our strengths and flaws.  We are settling and we talked about learning from each set and each match, so I'm very pleased with our learning curve from the first set of the day to the last one.  But it is a much bigger test tomorrow."
 
Why is it Important?  The Lions remain perfect against both teams, as the Vanguard is now 4-0 against Simpson and 2-0 against OIT. 
 
What's Next?  #2 Corban (2-0) awaits VU tomorrow at noon before a 6:00 p.m. clash with #20 Southern Oregon (2-0).