COSTA MESA – Vanguard and Menlo were back at it on Friday evening as the old NAIA foes squared off for their first meeting of the season. The Lions were the frontrunners in the non-conference matchup, taking the opening two sets 25-12 and 25-19. The third set was narrow, but the Lions used an errorless performance from Delaney Hill to claim the win in straight sets (25-12, 25-19, 26-24).

The Blue and Gold continue their best run in the NCAA Division II era, marking their fifth consecutive win to jump to 7-1. Menlo drops their fifth straight and moves to 1-7, 0-1.

Hill had her way from the right pin to connect on a team-high 11 kills. She also swung a career-best .733 (11-0-15) and added two block assists. Adeline Galvanoni was next in the kill counter with nine kills on a .263 hitting percentage. Viktoria Dickson delivered eight kills and six digs in the win. The VU setting duo of Macy Kavanaugh and Julia Ringenberg combined for 32 assists. Kavanaugh also finished with three aces and six digs. Middle blocker Kayla Robinson led both sides at the front of the net, tying her season-high tally of five blocks.

MC's Fuka Kikuchi led the visitors with 12 kills, hitting .300 (12-3-30).

As a unit, Vanguard hit .375 (40-14-85), marking their third successive game going above .300 in the attack. The Lions were in control from the service line, handing out seven aces to MC's one. Their error rate on the service line was also favorable, with five fewer service errors (12-7 MC). Both teams walked away from the Freed Center with six blocks each.

What Happened? Dickson nicked an ace on VU's first serve of the game, setting the standard for a long night of service pressure from the Lions. A cluster of kills split between Galvanoni and Dickson carried the Lions forward before Kikuchi finally pulled back some points for Menlo.

Hill had her first kill soon after, striking wrist down from the right pin for an 8-4 VU scoreline. With the ball back in their control from the side out, the Lions leapt to their most dominant run of the entire match. Abby Lutterloh stepped on to unload another Vanguard ace to the far left corner. Then came a Kavanaugh trifecta from the service line and an assist to Galvanoni on a strong tool on the right-hand side. The kill concluded a 12-1 run with VU up 20-6. They would climb up to their largest lead of the game (15) after two more MC errors and run away with the first frame 25-12.

VU led 5-0 in service aces and hit .333 (12-4-24).

Set 2- Though Menlo settled in serve receive, their match low .133 (10-6-30) in the set kept them on the backfoot. Vanguard also committed six attacking errors, but only had three service errors to the Oaks' five. MC led in blocks 2-1.

It was back and forth to start proceedings, as both teams scrapped at the net for control in the front row. A blocking error on Menlo eventually broke the deadlock for a 5-4 Vanguard lead. Kills by Hill, Dickson, and Galvanoni continued the forward momentum with the Lions staying ahead 11-9.  VU put their foot on the gas in the middle of the frame, as an ace from Payton Darm opened the door for a 7-5 Lion run, cranking the lead up to four (18-14 VU).

Neither team could stay away from service errors in the closing moments of the set, as five of the next seven points between both teams came from errant serves. The Lions got Robinson going in the middle with her first kill of the match to make it 23-17, and Ringenberg closed the deal with a well-placed ace to conclude the stanza.

Set 3- Set three was the tightest with 13 ties and four lead changes. Menlo was a much improved .294 (15-5-34) in the attack, but could not top VU's .375 (16-4-32) kill rate. Hill also came alive, finding five decisive swings to clinch the win.

Darm took advantage of a scattered Menlo defense to plant her kill in the back row. She also combined with Morgan Cole on a block assist for the early 3-2 VU score. Menlo punched back with another Kikuchi kill and welcomed a Lion service error to keep the scoreline all square (5-5). The Oaks stood as the pace-setters, holding onto a two-point lead for much of the set. They forced the final VU timeout at 20-15, with the Oaks settling in their largest lead of the game.

The Lions neutralized the threat quickly, with Hill remaining deadly on the right and Abigayle Gotwals tooling the blocks for back-to-back kills, capping a 4-0 Lion run. Hill found her next point off the backset from Ringenberg, and a Menlo ball handling error tied the set at 21-all. Menlo used a timeout to reset their rhythm but the Vanguard push was already in full throttle. The Lions forced two match points before Hill and Robinson capitalized the win with a sturdy block down the right.

What's Next? VU heads to Irvine to face Concordia tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm.