COSTA MESA – Vanguard hit .337 to sweep Academy of Art on Saturday in dominating fashion, securing a winning record in its first season of NCAA Division 2 women's volleyball.

The Lions improved to 13-11 overall in routing the Urban Knights by scores of 25-15, 25-17, 25-20 in the Freed Center. VU also finished 10-10 in its first trip through the PacWest Conference.

The Blue and Gold honored seniors Alister Borabo, Madeline DeLucia, Blair Dodge, Rachel Lim, Bailey Olbur, Kate Phillips, Jenesis Rios and Jessica Yamamoto, befitting their departure with perhaps their most well played match of the season. 

Vanguard's .337 hitting percentage ranked second only to the .347 mark in the season opener against Chadron State on September 6. 

The Lions swung at a sizzling .650 (14-1-20) clip in the third set to punctuate the victory.

Junior Morgan Cole tied for match-high honors with 11 kills on .381 (11-3-21) hitting. Borabo added seven kills and hit .700 (7-0-10) in her final match with the Blue and Gold.

Adeline Galvanoni and Olbur chipped in six kills each and Payton Darm had five on .556 (5-0-9) efficiency to go along with a match-high four blocks.

DeLucia had one ace – the 172nd of her career – and the setter finished second all-time in the VU record book. She handed out 21 assists, and with 2,802 for her career she ended up third in Lion annals.

Lim posted 12 assists and two aces in her final rodeo, while Dodge had five digs.

VU held the Urban Knights to just .099 hitting. Claire Ricard led Academy of Art with 11 kills and hit. 450.

What Happened?

Set 1 – The Lions set the tone early with a 5-0 run to give themselves a 6-2 lead. Cole had back-to-back kills to start the rally.

The run eventually ballooned to 8-1 as VU led 9-3. Cole and Darm teamed up to reject Katherine Von Kraut, and both Lions produced kills to put their side in control.

VU's advantage extended to double-digits at 17-7 before the Urban Knights scored three in a row. But any thought of a comeback quickly got extinguished as a 4-0 VU run – capped off by Cole's fifth kill of the set – opened up a 21-10 lead.

Phillips was inserted into the game with the Lions leading 23-13 as she promptly banged down a kill to get her team to set point. A Urban Knight service error clinched the set in favor of the Lions, 25-15.

Set 2 – Vanguard scored the first three points to stake claim to another early lead. The Lions extended their lead to 10-5 after Delaney Hill and Darm stuffed Paola Divis on an attempt.

Vanguard led 14-7 when both teams exchanged mini three-point runs. With the home team in front 17-10, the Urban Knights could get no closer than four points. 

Leading 21-17, the Lions collected the final four points for the comfortable victory. DeLucia delivered the final ace of her career on set point.

VU hit .289 (15-4-38) while ARTU countered at .056 (10-8-36).

Set 3 – The only times VU had trailed in the match up to this point was 1-0 and 2-1 in the first set. The Lions would not trail in the third set either.

VU maintained its dominance, breaking out to a 3-0 lead with a kill from Olbur, a block assist via Darm and Galvanoni, and a slam from Cole.

The Lions stayed up by three at 8-5 when three more consecutive points opened up a six-point advantage. Yamamoto drilled an ace to help the Lion cause.

The Urban Knights succumbed to a 7-2 VU run. With the Lions leading 15-7, Darm, Borabo, Olbur and Galvanoni all landed kills. Three Urban Knights service errors moved the Lions even closer, and another Borabo slam got VU to match point. 

ARTU fended off two match points, but Borabo, playing against the school from her hometown of San Francisco, fired off the final kill of the 2024 campaign to send the Lions to victory.

The Urban Knights hit an impressive .381 (12-4-21) in the frame, but it was no match for VU's .650 response.