SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The Vanguard beach volleyball team closed out Golden State Athletic Conference regular season play on Friday, dropping a pair of tough 3-2 contests to No. 1 OUAZ and No. 3 Arizona Christian in matches played on the campus of The Master's.
The Lions followed the same pattern in both matches with their top two pairs winning and the bottom three losing. The defeats leave the Blue and Gold vulnerable to qualifying for the GSAC Tournament in April, as only the top four teams in the standings qualify for the four-team field.
VU is now 6-11 overall and 5-5 in the GSAC. Results of upcoming GSAC matches between other teams in the standings will determine whether the Lions can sneak in.
#1 OUAZ 3, #6 Vanguard 2
The teams split the first two matches. Shea Marovich and Dayana Raygoza gave OUAZ a 1-0 lead with a 21-18, 21-12 victory at the fours over Bailey Coffin and Logan Daniels. Madi Nash and Madison Arnold held down the twos for VU as they squeaked past Olivia Andersh and Mattea Wilson by scores of 24-22, 21-19.
The Spirit crushed VU's hopes of an upset with consecutive wins at the threes and fives. Grace Hughes and Amanda Carlson swept Paige Cutwright and Gianna Pecile, 21-13, 21-17, at the threes for a 2-1 lead. The Lions No. 5 pair of Reece Fisher and Ana Broadhead took set one 21-18, but fell in the next two to Gabriela Corrales and Sam Baer. The Spirit tandem recovered to win 21-7 and 15-8.
At the ones, the Lions picked up their second point as Emma Galloway and Hannah Wilmes outlasted Summer Hanks and Diana Enriquez with a 21-17, 18-21, 15-10 victory.
OUAZ improved to 7-0 in GSAC play with the win.
#3 Arizona Christian 3, #6 Vanguard 2
The Lions had their third straight 3-2 setback in conference play after falling to the Firestorm.
VU took a 2-1 lead, but could not close the deal as the Lion threes lost in three in the clinching match.
The Firestorm went up 1-0 at the fours as Sydney Shaw and Brianna Boeckman won a hard fought match over Coffin and Daniels, going the distance in a 21-18, 17-21, 15-12 triumph.
Nash and Arnold went 2-0 on the afternoon as the VU twos played another tight match, knocking off Riley Brown and Hailey Brown by scores of 25-23, 21-16.
At No. 1, Galloway and Wilmes went extra points in the second set to upend Misty McCall and Mia Scheepens, 21-16, 22-20.
But the Firestorm tied the match as the fives pair of Emily Katzer and Amaya Brown won convincingly over Fisher and Broadhead in a 21-10, 21-17 decision.
The match came down to the threes court where Eliana Cho and Railey Dykstra traded blows with Cutwright and Pecile. The ACU pair took the first set 21-19, but the Lion duo battled back to win the second 21-16. In the deciding set, the Firestorm tandem won 15-11.
What Was Said?: "Unfortunately, we may have just shot our chance at making the GSAC Tournament," said Head Coach Kris Dorn. "We had some great showings but still need to maintain discipline through an entire match. It's a reminder that the GSAC is so talented. We will continue to grow and finish strong."
What's Next?: The final four regular season matches are all against nonconference opponents. VU meets No. 8 Westcliff on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The match will be played at the OC Great Park.
