HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The return flight to California for Vanguard women's volleyball will be a lot happier after picking up a sweep of the Hawaii Pacific Sharks on Saturday.  The Lions took down the last-place team in the Pacific West Conference in a sweep, winning 25-13, 25-20, and 25-13.  The Blue and Gold had all the individual game leaders, as Adeline Galvanoni netted 12 kills, Bailey Olbur picked up six blocks, Madeline DeLucia had 23 assists, and Blair Dodge had eight digs.  The Lions improve to 8-8 overall and 5-7 in the PacWest, while HPU drops to 1-18, 1-12.
 
 
What Happened?  The only meeting between the school before today was September 5, 1992, which VU won 3-2.  It was a different type of contest in 2024, as VU opened the match with a 6-0 run, with Galvanoni picking up two kills and the rest coming from HPU errors.  A kill from Morgan Cole and an ace by Rachel Lim helped the Vanguard lead reach 10 points at 14-4 and the gap would remain large the rest of the way.  HPU got into double-digits after a kill trimmed the VU lead to 21-10, but the Sharks made a few more errors and a well-placed kill by Delaney Hill gave Vanguard set one 25-13.  The Lions hit .250 in the first and HPU hit at a -0.029 rate.
 
Set 2:  The Lions did not trail in the middle frame but the Sharks gave a better accounting of themselves to force a couple of ties during the set.  VU went ahead 4-0 off the cuff thanks to more errors by the home side, though Galvanoni and Olbur combined for a big block during the run.  However, early advantage was soon slashed by the Sharks, who tied the score at 6-6 and then 7-7.  The Blue and Gold were not bothered by the counter by the Sharks, as Payton Darm thumped down two kills and Hill got another to re-establish the Vanguard lead at 10-7.  The edge grew to four points over the middle stages of the frame but HPU did not let the Lions get beyond that range, which allowed the Sharks to tie the score at 18-18.  Again, Vanguard had an answer, as Cole snapped down two kills, Olbur picked up an ace, and Galvanoni blasted another kill to the floor.  The short spurt of points was enough to put the Lions ahead for good, with a solo block by Alister Borabo giving VU set two 25-20.  The Lions hit .294 in the second and HPU hit .077.
 
Set 3:  The final set flowed much like the first, with the Blue and Gold leading from start to finish.  Borabo tallied the opening kill in the set and Cole and Galvanoni soon joined in for kills of their own to give VU a 5-1 edge.  Darm had two more kills over the next few rallies and Vanguard then pulled away thanks to a 9-0 streak that took a 9-7 lead and turned it into a 17-7 advantage.  The frontcourt picked up three blocks towards the end of the match and an ace from Macy Kavanaugh gave the Lions the set 25-13 to finish off the sweep.  The final set was the best offensively by the Lions, who hit .448 with 14 kills and one error in the period.  HPU hit .094.
 
Vanguard hit .330 in the contest with only nine errors across three sets, with no more than four per set.  VU led all major statistical categories except for digs, which HPU won 39-37.  Galvanoni had only one error on 25 attempts for a .440 attack rating.  Hill and Oblur had no errors, with Hill netting a .500 percentage (4 K, 8 TA) and Olbur a .400 mark (4 K, 10 TA).  Darm had five kills and no errors on six attempts for a .833 attacking percentage.  Lim had nine assists and seven players had one ace for the Lions.  Galvanoni also pocketed five block assists, one behind Olbur.
 
What's Next?  The Lions will take a drive on Halloween night for a spooky match at Point Loma next Thursday, October 31, at 6:00 p.m.