SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Less than a day after a Golden State Athletic Conference sweep over Arizona Christian, Vanguard women's volleyball was back in the gym against the Spirit of OUAZ on Saturday afternoon.  The Spirit gave the Lions a very spirited battle but despite the adversity, the Lions were able to pick up their second sweep of the weekend, winning 25-22, 25-23, and 25-14.  The Lions improve to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in the GSAC, while OUAZ falls to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
 
What Happened? The Blue and Gold raised the curtain on the match with a kill by Viktoria Dickson and went ahead 2-0 off an OUAZ error.  After that, it would not be so easy.  The Spirit put their big hitters to work and both sides exchanged scores until the opening set was tied at 12-12.  Strikes from Dickson and Delaney Hill put VU up 14-12 and after a point by the Spirit, the Lions put up three unanswered tallies to snag a 17-13 lead.  The Spirit took a timeout, but that little run would prove to be the difference.  Vanguard would stay ahead by two or more points the rest of the way, winning set one 25-22 on a solo block by Bailey Olbur.  The Lions hit .302 in the first frame, with 17 kills and four errors on 42 attempts.  OUAZ was at a .233 mark, their best of the match.
 
Set 2
The hitting percentages dropped for each side in set two, as both squads increased their defensive effort.  Adeline Galvanoni started the period with a sharp strike, but OUAZ answered with five straight points.  The Lions called a timeout to stem the rush and backed that call up with a 5-1 streak to knot the score at 6-6.  Tied at 8-8, the Spirit increased the ante by assembling a 7-2 stretch to corral a 15-10 advantage.  The Blue and Gold called another timeout and the team recovered smartly, stringing together a 5-0 run of their own.  Hill, Dickson and Olbur all put down kills during the run to help tie the score at 15-all.  The pendulum swung back to the Spirit, who put down a 6-2 hot streak to go ahead 21-17.  However, a kill for Callie Bickmore started the rescue effort for VU.  Madeline DeLucia followed that up with an ace and she snuck in another one a few rallies later to give the Lions a 22-21 edge.  The score was tied twice more but Kayla Robinson smashed a ball to the hardwood to put Vanguard ahead 24-23.  An attack error by the Spirit allowed the Lions to claim set two 25-23.
 
Set 3
The Vanguard offense returned to form in the third, as the Spirit seemed to run out of steam as the period moved along.  VU rang up the set's first three points and would lead 6-5 a few rallies later.  Back-to-back kills by Dickson and Hill fed the VU engine, which took an 8-5 edge and sailed away to a 17-6 lead.  Dickson and Hill again put down kills and Rachel Lim dished out an ace during that stretch that allowed VU to pull ahead for good.  OUAZ had a small 3-0 run but never regained their attacking prowess.  Olbur and Morgan Cole pocketed kills as the third set came towards an end and a powerful kill by Dickson gave VU the set 25-14, along with the match sweep. The Blue and Gold hit at a .361 rate in the third and held OUAZ to a .100 clip.
 
VU had a .252 hitting percentage for the match, while OUAZ finished with a .126 rate.  Vanguard led every category except for total blocks, which the Spirit won 16-6.  Dickson had a match-high 12 kills and hit .312 on the day.  Hill and Olbur were second on VU with eight kills each.  DeLucia and Lim had 20 assists apiece and Cole was tied for a match-high of 16 digs.  Natalie Escher was second with 15 digs.  DeLucia had three aces, half of the Vanguard total.

What was Said? "Today we found a way to win when the first two sets were tought to get in a rhythm.  OUAZ had some big guns and a big block, and it took us awhile to recalibrate to that.  Once we did, we got back in our groove.," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn.
 
Why is it Important?  The Lions avenge a 3-1 defeat at home against OUAZ last year and now have won two of the past three matchups, improving to 8-3 all-time against the Spirit.  Vanguard has now won 15 matches in a row and remains one game up on Life Pacific, who beat Menlo in five sets today.
 
What is Next?  The Lions have only two home games left and will travel to The Master's on Friday, October 6, for a 6:00 p.m. GSAC match.