FULLERTON, Calif. – Viktoria Dickson and Callie Bickmore delivered career-highs in kills to help the Vanguard women's volleyball team overcome a sluggish start and to a four-set win against Hope International in the Golden State Athletic Conference opener on Friday.
Set scores at Darling Pavilion were 24-26, 25-11, 25-20, 25-12.
Dickson recorded a career-best 17 kills on .368 hitting and Bickmore totaled 16 with just one error as the Lions hit .237 overall as a team.
Morgan Cole added 10 kills and a career-best 25 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Bailey Olbur and Delaney Hill also had solid offensive nights hitting .412 and .462, respectively.
Rachel Lim handed out 30 assists to go along with 13 digs while Madeline DeLucia just missed a double-double of her own with 15 assists and nine scoops.
Natalie Escher patrolled the back row with 26 digs as the Lions were credited with 106 as a team.
The Lions got better as the match drew on, which culminated in a .400 (19-3-40) hitting percentage in the final set.
VU head coach Jennifer Dorn won her 125th career match, one shy of tying the school record held by Eryn Leja.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The Lions and Royals engaged in a back-and-forth affair with seven lead changes and 16 ties. The largest lead by either team was four points, as a handful of errant Lion swings put the Royals in front 9-5.
But VU roared back with an 8-1 run to force an HIU timeout leading 13-10. The Lions posted five straight kills during the run with Dickson providing three of them.
The Royals settled down out of the timeout and reeled off three straight points, two on Jade Phillips kills, to knot the score at 13-13. The two teams exchanged points and were tied 11 more times until an Adeline Galvanoni kill leveled the score at 24-24.
Addie Mathias notched a kill to give HIU a 25-24 lead, and Cassidy Koffroth sealed the 26-24 victory with a service ace. HIU hit a team-best .224 (14-3-49) in the frame, while the Lions were derailed by 10 attack errors.
Set 2 – Escher held court with 15 straight serves to highlight a dominant second set for the Blue and Gold.
Trailing 2-1, the Lions started a 16-0 run with a double block by Olbur and Bickmore. The graduate libero then took over at the service line and the Lions went to work. Cole bombarded the Royals with five kills during the run and Escher landed a couple of aces.
HIU burned both timeouts in a futile effort to calm the Lions, who led 17-2 when the dust finally settled. The Royals scored five straight points to pull within 10, but the Blue and Gold answered with four of the next five to lead 21-8.
Dickson book ended the set with VU's first and last kill as the Lions won going away, 25-11, hitting .250 (14-5-36) overall and stifling the Royals to a -.111 (4-8-36) hitting effort.
Set 3 – The match transitioned into more back-and forth play with nine ties occurring, the last at 13-13.
Bickmore's kill gave the Lions the lead for good at 14-13, followed by an Escher ace and a combined block by Kayla Robinson and Bickmore. The 3-0 run forced an HIU timeout.
The Royals emerged from the break with two straight kills to whittle the deficit to one. Clinging to a 17-16 lead, the Lions went on another 3-0 mini spurt to lead by four as Cole's ace burned HIU's final timeout.
The Lions ended up with four 3-0 runs in the set, turning their final one into a 24-19 advantage. Koffroth's service error sealed the 25-20 victory for VU.
Set 4 – VU wilted the Royals with a commanding 14-3 run that led to an insurmountable 20-8 lead.
Six different Lions posted kills in the early going as the visitors led 7-5. Dickson scorched the Royals with six kills in the set, her last one providing the Blue and Gold with an 11-point lead.
Olbur added five kills and Bickmore four more as the Lions posted 19 kills against just three errors in the frame. VU's largest lead grew to 13 at 23-10 on a Bickmore slam, and ended that way as Bickmore's kill gave the Lions the 25-12 triumph.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions began the GSAC schedule with their ninth straight victory, matching their longest winning streak from the 2022 season.
What Was Said?: "Tonight was an interesting win," said Dorn. "We struggled to play our style of volleyball the first set but once we settled in, we found our rhythm a lot more. Big shout out to Tori and Callie in their offense, and Morgan and Natalie in their defense!"
What's Next?: VU greets The Master's in its GSAC home opener on Saturday, with first serve 6:00 p.m. at Calvary Chapel High School.
