COSTA MESA – The Vanguard women's volleyball team christened the opening of the brand new, 60,000 square foot Freed Center for Leadership and Service on Friday afternoon against Azusa Pacific – and although the 871 in attendance didn't witness the result they had hoped for – the atmosphere was celebratory and raucous nonetheless.
Despite the 25-22, 25-20, 25-27, 25-20 defeat to the Cougars – Vanguard's first PacWest contest – the Lions competed with great intensity and purpose while missing junior Morgan Cole, the team's leader in kills and digs.
Vanguard held advantages over APU in kills (54-44), assists (53-43) and digs (86-78), but the Cougars out blocked the Lions 10-3 and outhit them .200 to .140. Both teams had seven service aces.
VU filled up the stat sheet with three players logging double-digit kills, led by a season-high 16 from junior Adeline Galvanoni. Alister Borabo added a career-high 13 kills and Delaney Hill chipped in 10 more. Galvanoni hit a team-high .359 with just two errors in 39 swings.
Long rallies led to VU's 86 digs, with 34 of them coming from senior libero Blair Dodge. Dodge was just two off her career-best of 36 set two seasons ago.
Rachel Lim scooped up 15 digs, while Madeline DeLucia added 14 and Borabo 12. DeLucia and Lim handed out 26 and 17 assists, respectively.
The Cougars received 11 kills from Delaney Tate and 10 apiece courtesy of Kendal MacAskill and Sarah Wilson. Mia Medrano and Tate paced the APU defense with 27 and 21 digs, respectively.
Vanguard fell to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the PacWest. APU improved to 5-3 and 1-0 in league play.
What Happened?
Set 1: The first point in Freed Center history went to Vanguard, as Galvanoni slammed a kill on an assist from DeLucia.
The Cougars used a pair of runs at the beginning and end of set one to take the 25-22 triumph. After Galvanoni's opening strike, APU responded with four straight points.
The visitors maintained their edge until the Lions caught them at 15-15. The Lions reclaimed the lead at 17-16 following back-to-back kills from Hill, and an APU attack error handed VU a two-point lead.
VU stayed in front by two – the last time at 22-20 – when the Cougars closed out the set with a 5-0 run. Four of those points came on VU attack errors. APU hit .214 (13-4-42) in the first set, while VU chimed in at .071 (11-8-42).
Set 2: Vanguard used a 6-1 run to build a 9-4 lead early on, helped by the serving of Lim. Hill had a couple of kills during that stretch as well.
The Lions remained in control, up 11-6, when the Cougars mounted a 4-0 run to pull within a point. Tate had two kills and a solo block to bring APU closer.
APU briefly pulled alongside the Lions at 13-13, but the home side leaned on two more kills from Galvanoni as part of a mini 3-0 run. But the 16-13 edge was short lived as the Cougars scored seven of the next eight points. Wilson's kill completed the 7-1 run as APU led 20-17.
VU showed its fight, as Kayla Robinson teamed with Borabo and then Hill on assisted blocks to pull her team within one. Borabo then knocked down a kill to send the VU student section into a frenzy as the score was tied 20-20.
But, in a carbon copy of the first set, APU answered with a 5-0 run to scratch out the victory. Katelyn Sonnier started the burst with a kill, followed by two VU errors, an APU ace, and a Tate putaway.
APU outhit VU .206 to .159.
Set 3: After two tough setbacks in sets 1 and 2, the Lions refused to fold and captured the 27-25 victory.
Kills from Galvanoni and DeLucia gave the Lions a quick 2-0 lead. APU grabbed its first lead at 4-3 and eventually extended it to 9-6, helped along by two aces from Wilson.
Robinson and Kate Phillips had a kill each as part of a 3-0 run to tie the score at 9-9. That was the first of seven ties which lasted until 16-16, when APU got a kill and solo block to open a two-point advantage.
The Cougars widened their lead to 23-17 thanks to a 7-1 surge. But the Lions responded impressively with five straight points to whittle the deficit to 23-22. Dodge served tough and landed an ace, followed by kills from Olbur and Phillips that brought the Lion faithful to their feet.
APU got to match point as Amanda Albertini and Tate recorded an assisted block, but a service error and a Phillips slam knotted the set at 24-24.
The score remained tied at 25-25 when Borabo and Galvanoni found the floor on consecutive plays to secure the win. VU outhit APU .244 to .147.
Set 4: Four early ties provided the hint that another tight battle was in store.
The Lions seized momentum with a 5-1 run, taking a 9-5 lead with Borabo, Hill and Robinson all contributing kills. APU crawled back and trailed 10-9, but the Lions extended the gap back to four with a 4-1 run.
Back-and-forth the teams went, as this time APU scored four straight points to tie the set at 14-14. The Lions reclaimed a pair of two-point leads at 16-14 and 19-17.
However, APU struck with another late set surge. The Cougars scored five points in a row – three coming off kills from Wilson – to take a 23-19 lead. Borabo put a ball down as VU climbed within three, but the Cougars secured the match victory following a VU attack error and an Albertini kill.
APU hit a match-high .225 in set four, while VU countered at .091.
What Was Said?: "Tonight was emotional. To open a match with such school support from admin, student section, staff, faculty and our alumni was overwhelming," said Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "A huge thank you to everyone who made tonight happen! I'm so proud of how the team competed tonight. We made some changes due to injury and I'm so proud of how our team stepped into the gap and leveled up. Tonight was fun, long rallies, good ball and coming back from deficits. A new era of volleyball is here and we couldn't be more excited."
What's Next?: The Lions rekindle another huge rivalry on Saturday as they travel to Biola for a 1:00 p.m. match.
