IRVINE, Calif. –Friday evening was fruitful for women's volleyball, as the Lions put Western Oregon to bed in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-22) at CU Arena. The sweep for the Blue and Gold moved them to 2-0 on the season, as the Lions are still yet to drop a set. The Wolves dropped to 0-3 in the early campaign.
VU rode the wave of their electric performance off their Thursday night's home opener against Regis (Colo.), whereas Western Oregon had a rather quick turnaround after playing a match against Concordia earlier Friday.
Senior outside hitter Morgan Cole finished with nine kills to lead the Blue and Gold, she nearly snared a double-double with 15 digs and also supplied a match-high 12.5 points. Delaney Hill also had another phenomenal night in the young season; her eight kills and efficient .389 hitting percentage led all players with double-digit attacks. Adeline Galvanoni also added eight kills in the win. Julia Ringenberg and Macy Kavanaugh dished out 13 assists each with an astounding zero errors.
As a unit, the Blue and Gold led in hitting percentage .159 (35-17-113) to WOU's .70 (32-24-11). They also embodied a total team effort at the net, outblocking their foes 16-5.
They also only had eight service errors, down from the 13 they had on opening night.
What Happened?
Despite playing earlier in the day, the Wolves looked the more energetic team out of the gate, putting the Blue and Gold in an early 9-6 deficit in the first set. Vanguard had a 6-1 run up their sleeves, though, anchored by kills from Hill, Viktoria Dickson, and Kayla Robinson. The trio combined for 15 kills on the match. Western Oregon, meanwhile, had some timing issues on the attack, as their first set featured 10 errors to match their 10 kills. It was all VU needed to beat the opposition in the race to 25.
The second stanza was where VU seized firm control in the match. Both teams started bottlenecked to begin the set, with VU paced by alternating kills from Galvanoni and Cole for a 4-4 score. The Lions leapt forward on an 8-0 run, with four points coming via WOU attacking error. VU struggled to run up the score however, as the Blue and Gold were plagued by their own surge of errors in the offense. The Red and White tried scrapping back with a healthy spell of momentum, thanks to a timely serving run to trim the VU lead to seven (19-12 VU).
But, once again, errors shut the door for the team from out of state.
Vanguard took a 20-15 lead courtesy of a 5-1 run that featured four more Wolves miscues. Cole then delivered her first of two service aces for the match, punctuating a healthy Lion cushion in the closing stages of the set. The Wolves' habitual mishaps, paired with VU's match-high 15 kills on .256 hitting percentage proved too much for WOU to overcome. Cole (5 kills) paced the Lions that set in the kill department while Dickson, Galvanoni, and Hill all picked up a trio in that second set win, 25-19.
The third frame saw VU's mettle be tested. Western Oregon had two separate 5-1 scoring spurts in them, with the last one giving them a 19-16 lead late. A quick timeout from Coach JP was all they needed. Eight of the next ten points went to VU, including a pair of resounding detonations from Cole and Galvanoni to reach match point.
Cole provided the nail in the coffin with a beautiful tip at the net on a set from Kavanaugh, getting the bounce in no-man's-land just shy of the 10-foot line on the Wolves' sideline.
What was Said? "Tonight was a fun match and another great night of growth, especially with our vast improvements from the service line." noted Head Coach Jennifer Dorn. "We have had such a great couple weeks of practice that have been extremely intentional, and our girls are unified in all that we are doing. We have some new faces in key positions, and it is exciting to see what our base line looks like because we will only continue to build from here."
What's Next?
The Lions will have little time to celebrate the win, as they'll stack up against Texas Woman's University to close the APU/CUI tournament tomorrow at 10 am back in Irvine.
