SANTA ANA, Calif.  -- The Saturday afternoon women's volleyball match between Vanguard and Menlo provided plenty of seesaw action and the Lions were able to stave off a determined effort by the Oaks in the third and fourth sets.  Vanguard grabbed the 3-1 victory 25-21, 25-16, 20-25, and 26-24.  Delaney Hill continues to impress in her second year, as the outside hitter led all players with 14 kills (tying her career-high) and hit .333 for the match.  Blair Dodge set a career-high with six aces on the night, as VU had an 11-4 edge in aces for the match.  The Lions improve to 14-1 overall and 4-0 in GSAC play, while Menlo drops to 11-4, 3-1.
 
What Happened?  Rachel Lim opened the match with an ace and despite a quick response from the Oaks, the Lions pushed ahead early with four straight points.  Bailey Olbur thumped down the first VU kill of the set and two aces from Blair Dodge helped VU to scoot ahead 5-1.  Menlo soon turned about and caught up over a 7-3 stretch to tie things at eight-all.  But the Lions quickly bucked that stretch and rolled off five unanswered points, capped by a block from Hill and Olbur, which forced the Oaks to take a timeout down 13-8.  Menlo put up a short 4-1 stretch after that but the Blue and Gold took over the next phase, outscoring the Oaks 8-3, with Callie Bickmore and Morgan Cole landing kills.  The Oaks picked up the pace down the stretch, cutting the lead from 24-18 to 24-21, but that was as close as it would get.  Hill rose up again and collected her second strike in as many rallies to give VU set one 25-21.  VU hit .114 in the first, while Menlo hit at a .091 clip.
 
Set 2: An attack error gave MC the first point of the second set but a kill by Cole and an ace from Dodge allowed the Lions to resume the lead 3-1.  The advantage would remain stable for only a short time, as the Oaks made a 4-1 run to knot things up at 8-8.  The teams exchanged points for a few rallies but then Dodge once again provided a spark for VU, as she splashed down with two more aces.  A kill by Olbur forced Menlo to take a timeout down 14-11 and though the Oaks grabbed a couple of points after the break, it did not slow down the Lions for long.  Two kills for Bickmore helped the Lions stretch the lead to 19-13 and the strong run eventually ended on a kill by Hill to give VU set two 25-16, as the Lions outscored the Oaks 15-5 to conclude the period.  Vanguard hit a match-best .258 in the second and held the Oaks to a .111 percentage.
 
Set 3: Menlo snagged the first three points of the third frame but with Dodge back behind the service line, VU rallied for four-straight points, with Olbur and Viktoria Dickson notching kills.  The early stages of the set did not settle on one side for long, as the teams exchanged points until the period was tied at 11-all.  Menlo then pounced for three straight points, forcing Vanguard to take a timeout.  Dickson got the Lions back on the board with a kill after the break and Olbur followed suit to cut the gap to 14-13.  MC picked up a couple of kills, but Cole blasted away with two of her own, helping VU tie the set at 17-all.  The sides exchanged some long rallies, with Dickson and Natalie Escher making some clutch digs, and the score would soon be tied at 19-19.  From there, the Oaks put down three unanswered kills to snag a 22-19 advantage.  A Vanguard timeout could not stem the tide, as Menlo won set three 25-20.  The Oaks continued to improve in their hitting percentage, smacking at a .217 rate in the third, while VU hit .085.
 
Set 4: After swapping 3-0 runs to start the fourth, the two sides bounced points back and forth the rest of the way. The score would be tied six times until the board read 10-10, when a kill from Hill and an attack error by MC put the Lions up 12-10.  Menlo responded with a trio of points to regain the lead, but another Dodge ace tied things at 13-13.  All square at 17-17, kills from Hill and Dickson gave VU a 19-17 edge and forced Menlo to take a timeout.  The Oaks emerged and tied the score with two straight points, and despite a service error, MC scored twice more to take a 21-20 lead, with VU taking a timeout.  A block by Dickson and Olbur put the score at 21-21, with an attack error and a kill from Dickson inching the Blue and Gold ahead 23-22.  Menlo called its last timeout and tied the score again but a blistering kill from Adeline Galvanoni put VU on the brink of victory.  The Oaks staved off defeat with a kill to knot things at 24-all, but there would not be a need for many extra rallies.  Lim fed Cole a lovely ball that she pounded to the floor to again put the Lions in the driver's seat.  This time, VU was able to finish the period off as Madeline DeLucia gave Hill another great set and she put the match away, as the Lions won the fourth 26-24.  Menlo hit a team-high .250 in the fourth, while the Lions hit .226.
 
Menlo ended up outhitting the Lions .166 to .157 for the match, though VU had the edge in total kills 50-45.  Vanguard also had the lead in digs (69-64) and total blocks (13-11).  Cole came home second in kills for the match with 11, with Dickson and Olbur each netting seven.  Lim had 26 assists and DeLucia had 18.  Olbur was also huge at the net, collecting six block assists to lead all players.  Escher paced VU with 22 digs and both Cole and Dodge were next with 11.
 
Why is it Important?  VU goes to 17-5 all-time against the Oaks and goes to 4-1 over the last five meetings.  Life Pacific also won today, meaning LPU and VU are tied for the top spot in the conference. 
 
What was Said?  Head Coach Jennifer Dorn said after the game, "Today was the most tested we've been, and we knew what were going to be up against.  I'm proud of our team pulling ourselves out of some holes and tough situations, adapting when we needed to and ultimately having the determination to finish it off."
                                                                            
What is Next?  The Lions and the Warriors will square off next Friday, September 22, at 7:00 p.m. in San Dimas to see who will take provisional pole in the GSAC.