LA MIRADA, Calif. -- Vanguard women's volleyball lost to Biola 3-1 on Friday at Chase Gymnasium, with set scores of 22-25, 19-25, 25-23 and 16-25. The Lions extended the match by taking the third set, using a stretch from a 10-7 deficit to a 13-10 lead as a part of their lone set win. VU hit .152 with 45 kills and 11 total blocks, while Biola finished at .252 and held advantages in kills, digs, aces and blocks. Te Lions dropped to 5-10 overall and 3-5 in Pacific West Conference games, while BU improved to 12-3, 7-1.
What Happened? VU built a 10-6 lead behind kills from
Abigayle Gotwals,
Kayla Robinson and
Meadow Hobbs, plus back-to-back blocks involving
Saniyah Neal,
Haylee Long and Hobbs. Biola answered with six straight points to go ahead 12-10, and The Blue and Gold spent the middle of the set trading responses through Gotwals, Robinson and Hobbs. The Lions were down 17-14 but got kills from Hobbs and Neal around a
Kate Fagundes service ace to move in front 18-17 before Hobbs added another kill for a 19-18 edge. The Lions were still within one, down 23-22 after a Gotwals kill, but Biola took the final two points to close the set 25-22. VU hit .244 with 16 kills and six errors, while BU had a .325 clip.
Set 2
VU briefly pushed in front early, but Biola created separation through the middle of the second set and finished off a 25-19 result to put VU on the brink. Neal answered the opening point with a kill that came off a
Macy Kavanaugh pass, and the Lions turned Biola attack errors into a 5-3 lead with a Hobbs-Robinson block helping the early wave. Biola moved ahead 9-6 after consecutive VU attack errors and a service ace, but Long kept The Blue and Gold in range with three kills before Gotwals added a kill and a service ace as the Lions closed to 17-16. However, the hosts closed the frame on an 8-3 stretch, hitting .269 to Vanguard's 0.036 rate.
Set 3
The Lions turned the third set after falling behind 10-7, winning six straight points with Hobbs serving to move in front 13-10. Hobbs started the push with a kill from Kavanaugh, Neal's block tied the set at 10-10, and Long and Neal combined on back-to-back blocks as VU built a three-point edge. Biola answered to tie the set at 13-13, but Gotwals put The Blue and Gold back ahead with kills at 14-13 and 15-14. Robinson and
Daphne Raymond followed with a block during another three-point stretch for the Lions to push the edge to 17-14, and the teams traded points late until a Long kill gave the Lions set point at 24-21. The Eagles shaved the gap down to one at 24-23, yet Gotwals finished the set with a kill for a 25-23 VU win. The Lions hit .259 in the frame, a the best percentage for the night for VU, while BU fell to 0.063.
Set 4
Vanguard spent the fourth set working from an early deficit, as Biola scored five of the first six points and went on to take the set, 25-16. Long, Gotwals and Raymond supplied early kills for the Lions, and VU made a rebuttal from down 10-4 with three straight points on a Biola service error, a Hobbs kill, and a Kavanaugh ace. The Blue and Gold later added consecutive kills by Long and Robinson to move the score to 14-11, but Biola responded with the next two points and continued to keep separation.
Sarah Wold and the tandem of Raymond and Neal added block points late, but Biola closed out the set at 25-16. The Eagles hit a match-high .345 in the final interval, and Vanguard hit 0.056.
VU put away 45 kills on 132 attacks but hit .152, while Biola hit .252 with 52 kills and 20 attack errors. BU led in aces (13-4) and digs (55-42). Gotwals led the Lions with 15 kills and added one ace, with Hobbs next with 12 kills, nine digs and two blocks. Kavanaugh recorded 24 assists and a team-high 11 digs for a double-double while also pacing VU with two aces. Wold had 16 helpers, Neal posted a team-high six blocks and added two kills.
What's Next? The Lions welcome CUI on Tuesday night for a 7:00 p.m. match.
