COSTA MESA – Vanguard's second of a four-game homestand came with a spirited effort against Biola, but VU's attempted reverse sweep ended in a 3-2 loss Saturday afternoon. The Eagles took the opening two sets at the Freed Center, 25-19, 25-15. The Lions' dominant blocking performance, however, helped them come back and win 25-16, 25-22 to force a fifth set. VU's momentum came to a halt in the final set, as the Eagles won convincingly with a 15-4 tally.
The Blue and Gold drop to 6-15, 4-10 in the Pacific West Conference. The loss also officially ends VU's postseason hopes. Biola survives its third straight five-set match, improving to 17-5, 12-3. With Point Loma defeating Concordia in San Diego this afternoon, the league hierarchy resets, with the Sea Lions currently atop the standings.
Meadow Hobbs and
Abigayle Gotwals each produced double-doubles to lead VU. A career's third for Hobbs was bundled into a 13-kill, 12-dig performance. Gotwals hit .206 (11-4-34) to pair with 11 digs and four blocks.
Daphne Raymond capped off a stellar showing with 10 kills and three blocks, hitting .227.
VU's pair of middles only committed one error between them.
Kayla Robinson hit .304 (8-1-23) and tallied five blocks.
Kayla Henninger was without fault on her four kills (4-0-9) and also added five blocks, with a career-best seven digs.
Setter
Macy Kavanaugh finished the double-double party with 17 assists and 10 digs. It was her sixth of the season and 14
th of her career.
What Happened? Both teams hit well to start, with Biola holding a slight .289 (14-3-38) to .229 (13-5-35) edge over the Lions. Gotwals collected four straight kills to start the match eliciting a balanced four-all score. The Eagles made dividends at the service line though, with four aces to VU's one, sporting back-to-back aces to blow open a 9-3 run and lead 13-7. Gotwals remained sharp, even grabbing the Lions' only ace of the period to pull the home side within four, but the Eagles stamped two aces in response to build a run into the red zone (21-12 BU). The Lions had seven of the last 11 points of the period, but BU were first to 25, with a kill through the gap to go up 1-0. Gotwals went for an errorless six kills.
Set 2
The Biola service pressure continued with a 3-0 advantage for the Eagles, and a dipping jump float serve to make it 1-0. The Eagles had a 7-3 lead before VU's offense started finding its groove. The Blue and Gold used points from Hobbs, Raymond, and Henninger to come within two (8-6 BU). A pair of Lion attack errors helped the visitors reset the cushion, but the Lions sourced another run, this time putting a 4-1 display on the board to trail by one (11-10 BU). That was VU's last competitive sniff off the stanza; BU put down two more aces in an 8-1 run and closed out the set with the concluding four points to win 25-15.
Set 3
The tempo shift from Vanguard was evident from the first serve of set three as VU refused to go down in straight sets. They hit their match-best .345 (13-3-29) while BU hit its worst at .000 (8-8-27). Raymond was vastly influential with three kills, and more decisively a big piece of VU's block as the Lions outpaced the best blocking team in the PacWest 5-1 in the margin.
VU had a 4-1 push to start with kills from Hobbs, Robinson, and
Haylee Long from the right pin. BU made up the damage with an ace and two kills to get back on equal footing. The set was clasped into six straight ties before VU pulled away. The Lion block forced three attack errors from Biola, and a Kavanaugh setter dump pushed the visitors into their first timeout of the period (14-11 VU). The Lions lost no momentum out of the break, with a pair of Raymond kills, the highlight of the fully furnished 11-2 Lion run (21-12 VU). Biola's only points during the stretch came via VU service error.
The set finished with a Raymond kill and block through the latter stages and a couplet of consecutive BU errors as VU won 25-16.
Set 4
The Biola block started to get engaged in the fourth set, and made for a scrappy stanza with four blocks for each team. VU's .268 (16-5-41) hitting percentage was greatly dictated by clinical conversions on overpasses and long bouts of service pressure. Set four was the only set where VU matched BU's serving punch, with a 2-2 trade between the sides.
Hobbs marked the first two VU points as the set stood at two all. Then the
Julia Ringenberg, Raymond rotation slotted in position, and the Lions took the set by the horns. Ringenberg's service pressure led to long-lapse of overpasses by BU and VU hunted down nine points in a row to earn a 12-2 run and a 14-4 lead. Biola lurched back into the set through the midway portion with a 9-2 trade of their own, but the VU block bolstered a sizable response, with a double-block and Raymond kill to lead 22-18. Hobbs had two of last three VU points to force the fifth set.
Set 5
Biola finished in style with 11 kills on 22 swings (11-1-22) to hit .455, while the Lions were reduced to the negatives (2-4-25). Three straight VU miscues painted the opening three BU points, as the Eagles shifted the tempo from the previous stanzas. Biola did bleed two errors to put VU level (3-3), but that was the last time the game was remotely close as the Eagles snapped 10 straight points on the board en route to winning 15-4.
Biola led narrowly in kills (59-52) but had more staggering advantages in aces (10-3), assists (56-42), and digs (78-64). VU had the lead in blocks, 10-8.
What's Next? VU hosts Dominican on Wednesday, October 28, at 7 p.m.
