SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Vanguard women's volleyball deleted its memory of the defeat at Jessup the other night to sweep the Penguins of Dominican University of California Friday evening. VU overpowered the Penguins at the net, winning the total block count 19-11, and the Penguins got over 20 points only in the second set. VU improved to 14-5 overall and 2-4 in Pacific West Conference action, while DUC dropped to 1-19, 0-6.
What Happened? The Penguins opened the scoring, but a DUC error and a kill by
Adeline Galvanoni got VU on the board. Tied at 6-6,
Delaney Hill smacked a kill to the deck to spark a 4-0 burst to put VU ahead 10-6. That proved to be the opening stage for an 18-5 spell that saw the Lions thrive in all three phases, especially at the net, as
Kayla Robinson,
Morgan Cole,
Payton Darm, Galvanoni, and Hill all helped reject DUC attacks. Dominican got two points late, but Hill spiked down one more kill for a 25-13 win for VU in set one. The opening set was the best offensively for Vanguard, as the squad hit .364 and limited the Penguins to a -0.026 mark.
Set 2
The Penguins punched four quick points to open the frame, but Galvanoni and Cole soon threw down strikes to help bring the Lions back into the picture. DUC maintained a three-point lead over the next few rallies and then extended the edge to 10-5, but a throwdown by Robinson got the energy back on the Vanguard side of the net. Down 12-7, Hill and
Abigayle Gotwals sent balls to the deck and a pair of shots by Galvanoni put the Blue and Gold ahead 15-14. The Penguins dug their feet in and tied the score three times and inched out a 21-20 advantage. But the home side committed errors when it mattered, and after a block by Cole and Robinson, Galvanoni finished the set with a booming kill. Winning the period 25-23, VU hit .294 and DUC had a .282 rate.
Set 3
The third was even throughout the early stages, with 13 ties occurring as the squads walked the score up to 15-all. A snipe by Gotwals and a DUC error gave VU a 17-15 lead, and Vanguard did not look back. Galvanoni and Darm thumped down kills, and the Lions ended the evening on an 8-4 stretch, with a solo block by Robinson and a setter dump by
Macy Kavanaugh giving VU a 25-19 win for the sweep. VU hit .188 in the final frame and the Penguins had a -0.056 grade.
The Lions hit .283 in the match and held DUC to a .070 rate. Vanguard won all the main team categories and dominated at the net, with Robinson getting two solo blocks and five of the team's 17 block assists. In a fun twist, the team had exactly 14 kills in each set. Cole was tied for the match-high in kills with 10, with Galvanoni next with nine. Hill had seven kills and Gotwals put down six. Kavanaugh had 18 assists, one ahead of
Julia Ringenberg's 17. Darm and Gotwals had three block assists each, and Cole had four.
Kate Fagundes led all players with 13 digs and Kavanaugh was next nine.
What's Next? Vanguard concludes the trip with a stop at Menlo tomorrow for a 1:00 p.m. contest.
