LA MIRADA, Calif. -- August 30, 2017 was the last time Vanguard women's volleyball played Biola and it was another year further, in 2016, that the schools last played a conference match. Both of those timestamps changed on Saturday afternoon as the Lions and Eagles squared off in a Pacific West Conference match. Unfortunately for VU, Biola had the extra measure when called upon and completed a sweep 25-23, 25-22, and 25-23 to improve to 3-7 overall and 1-1 in PacWest action. The Lions drop to 3-3, 0-2, and were led in kills by
Delaney Hill.
What Happened? The return to BU had a rough start for the Lions, as the Blue and Gold were immediately down 6-0.
Bailey Olbur tapped down a kill to get VU on the board but by the middle of the set, the Lions trailed 17-6. Although Olbur put down another two kills shortly after, the gap remained large at 18-10. However, Biola got a little tepid and that allowed the Lions to maneuver back into contention, as VU put together a 12-5 run.
Kate Phillips had three kills in a short span,
Kayla Robinson and
Alister Borabo also landed kills, and a strike from Hill pulled Vanguard to within one at 23-22. But the comeback came too late, as Biola gathered two of the next three points to take set one 25-23. VU hit .406 in the first set, with 16 kills and three errors, while Biola hit .256.
Set 2 The two sides started the middle frame even but the Blue and Gold got the opening run of the period, as a kill by Phillips and two BU errors put the Lions up 6-3. The lead grew to five over the middle stages of the set, with
Adeline Galvanoni netting two kills to double her count for the game. Leading 15-10, the Lions seemed to be in a good spot, but the Eagles cut into the lead and outscored VU 10-5 to knot the score up at 20-all. The home side had all the energy after that and they would take the frame 25-22 as some late errors put Vanguard down 0-2 in the match. VU hit .115 in the second and Biola hit .138.
Set 3 A pair of aces for
Madeline DeLucia helped the Lions establish an early edge at 3-0 for the second set in a row, but Biola would soon tie things at 4-4. VU then surged ahead 7-4, but the third set would be tied five times after that. Biola then ran off four unanswered points to take a 17-13 lead, but kills by Borabo and Hill, along with another pair of aces by DeLucia, equalized the score at 17-17. Galvanoni and Olbur gave VU a 19-17 lead but the home team had an answer to knot things at 19-19, and the contest would be tied four more times over a short span. Level at 22-all, a kill and a VU error put Biola in the lead 24-22, but Robinson countered to give the Lions hope. However, Biola ended the match with a kill to take the set 25-23 to win the first conference matchup between the two squads in eight years. Biola hit .242 in the third and held VU to a .156 rate.
The Lions had four more kills than the Eagles in the match (37-33) and three more digs (36-33), but Biola had a 15-7 edge in aces and a 7-5 lead in blocks. Biola hit .218 for the match and VU hit .233. Hill had eight kills and three errors for a .263 attack percentage. Galvanoni had seven kills and both Borabo and Phillips had six.
Rachel Lim had 13 assists and DeLucia had 12 to pair with her team-leading four aces.
Blair Dodge led all players with 15 digs, with Lim second on the squad with 10. Robinson had a solo block and a block assist, with Olbur posting two solo blocks and one block assist.
Why is it Important? VU joins five other teams that are winless in the PacWest as of midday Saturday and Dodge is now under 100 digs shy of 1,000 in her career.
What was said? "Today was disappointing as we positioned ourselves well, but struggled to close things out," said Head Coach
Jennifer Dorn. "The fact that we are competing well with some low numbers in certain categories is good because if we can tweak the aspects that we need to, these losses will become wins."
What is Next? Another old foe enters a new era, as VU plays at Westmont on Thursday, September 26, at 7:00 p.m. for the first time in the PacWest.
