AZUSA, Calif. – Women's volleyball stormed the Felix Event Center Friday evening with a convincing 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-16) result over Azusa Pacific in nonconference action. The win brought Vanguard (10-2, 1-1) up to their 10th win of the season and marked the first Lions' victory at APU (5-7,1-1) since 2004.

Morgan Cole made it six double-doubles on the year after notching a game-high 15 kills and 13 digs. The captain also hit a flaming .423 (15-4-26) and had a match-best five block assists.

Kayla Robinson tied her career-high (11 kills) for the third time this season, tallying just two attack errors to swing a dominant .692 (11-2-13). She also had four block assists.

Viktoria Dickson was three kills shy of a double-double with seven kills and 10 digs. Adeline Galvanoni and Delaney Hill were also among the efficient Lion hitters in the contest. Both opposites hit over .350, with Galvanoni going for errorless (7-0-19) to hit .368 and Hill clipping six kills at a .455 rate (6-1-11).

Macy Kavanaugh pinched her second double-double in a row with 18 assists and 13 digs, with her setter partner Julia Ringengberg dishing out 16 dimes, two aces, and five digs.

What Happened? VU's second road game of the year started with a five-point deficit after a quintet of APU kills and a Vanguard timeout from Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. The Lions exited the break composed, scrapping for their first point of the evening through a long-winded rally finished off by Payton Darm. Cole had four of the next five VU kills as the Lions answered back for an 8-8 scoreline.

Robinson's punch through the blocks gave the Lions the lead, but a service error from VU kept the score level. Hill enjoyed back-to-back kills, striking once with power and again with a tip shot cut cross court to take the Blue and Gold up 11-9. The Lions charged through the remainder of the frame, flaunting a 10-4 run to enter the red zone.  At 21-14 VU, Robinson took ownership of two straight kills on power drives through the middle, and Abby Lutterloh's ninth ace of the season capitalized the eventual set one win.

Set 2- Both teams had six attack errors in set two, but were separated heavily in their offense rhythms. The Lions netted 17 kills to hit .344 (17-6-32), while APU struggled with their match-low hitting percentage of .056 (8-6-36).

The Cougars were once again steady starters, drawing first blood off a VU attack error. They notched three of their opening four points in a similar fashion for a 4-4 tie.

APU went on 3-1 push for a 7-5 APU score, but the serving rotation of Hill and Ringenberg brought the Lions back in system. The duo scored or assisted on four of the next six VU points as the Lions returned in control 14-11.

Cole sparked the final run of the stanza to widen the gap, going for three successive kills from the left before Ringenberg kissed her serve off the net for her first ace of the night. APU tried to pull momentum with a timeout, but the Cougars swung three errors on the closing six points of the frame for a 2-0 VU lead.

Set 3- The Lions hit their best hitting percentage in the closing set, terminating at a rate of .455 (19-4-33).

Unlike the previous two sets, VU were out from the jump, claiming an 11-3 run to start the period. Darm and Dickson led the serving runs, with four kills from Cole, a pair from Galvanoni, and points from both middles in Robinson and Darm.

APU mustered the side out to stall VU's groove, but the Lions soon regained rhythm with another Ringenberg ace and a 5-1 split to shoot the Lions up 16-5. The Cougars made up ground on a 6-3 run to break double figures in the set (19-11 VU), but Abigayle Gotwals and Sarah Wold combined to send VU toward a nine-point advantage, with a tool from Gotwals. Dickson ended the match soon after, with a polished line shot to finish off the road win.

The Blue and Gold hit .379 (53-14-103) to APU's .140 (28-13-107) across the three sets. They also led in every major statistical category, with their most commanding splits coming in kills (53-28), assists (47-26), and digs (57-32).

What's Next? VU heads back to the Freed Center for more nonconference action with Biola tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 pm.