COSTA MESA -- Senior Night for Vanguard women's volleyball was spoiled by the visiting Jessup Warriors Friday over the course of five sets. The Lions snared set one 25-23 and sliced through the Warriors 25-15 in the second, but JU won the next three frames 25-11, 25-22, and 18-16 to complete the reverse sweep. The Lions dropped to 7-16 overall and 5-11 in Pacific West Conference games, while Jessup improved to 6-18, 4-12
Vanguard's .194 hitting percentage in the second period dropped below .100 in the third and fifth sets, with the team netting a .117 rate for the match. Jessup went from a -0.091 mark up to a .216 clip in the fourth to tally a .154 rate for the match. The Warriors won the contest despite falling in all team categories except aces, which Jessup led 8-7.
Haylee Long led VU with a .258 hitting rate and 14 kills on 31 swings, while
Meadow Hobbs made it three straight double-doubles with 11 kills and digs on Friday.
Daphne Raymond had a season-high 12 kills, while
Grace McQuoid led Vanguard with a career-high 17 digs.
The Lions celebrated the quarter of graduating players from the roster before the game, giving
Kate Fagundes,
Macy Kavanaugh,
Kayla Robinson, and
Sarah Wold plenty of love and gratitude. Fagundes tied Hobbs with 11 digs, while Kavanaugh had 18 assists to
Julia Ringenberg's 15. Robinson had five kills and five block assists, while Wold had four helpers. Long and
Kayla Henninger led the Lions with seven block assists.
What Happened? Perhaps there was a warning sign in the first set, as though VU won, Jessup had a pair of long runs. After Long helped VU out of the gate, the home side led 5-3 after a Robinson and Raymond block. JU then pulled off a 6-1 stretch to claim a 9-6 edge, but the Blue and Gold unleashed a 6-0 interval in response, with Fagundes dropping in a pair of aces. Yet a 6-2 counter by the Warriors leveled things at 15-all, and JU led 20-18 a few rallies later. Yet, a 4-0 streak by the Lions, which included a Kavanaugh ace, put the hosts ahead once more 22-20. A thumping kill by Long coupled with a Long and Henninger block sealed set one for VU at 25-23.
Set 2
The second stanza was Vanguard's best, though liftoff did not occur until the score was tied at 9-9. Hobbs laid down three aces in rapid succession, and a kill by Kavanaugh increased the gap to 14-10. JU trimmed the lead to 18-15, but the visitors would not score after that, with Hobbs and Raymond landing strikes as part of a 7-0 run to complete set two in favor of VU.
Set 3
The Blue and Gold found the lead thanks to a Robinson tally to make it 2-1, but a 4-0 parry by Jessup put the Warriors up 6-3. After Hobbs tied the period at 7-7, Jessup pulled away via a 7-1 stretch, with Vanguard scoring only four points the rest of the set.
Set 4
JU opened on a 5-1 run, but Long and Raymond assisted in Vanguard tying the set at 5-5. The Warriors scooted away to a 13-8 lead, but two 4-1 pushes by VU cut the gap down to 17-16. Though
Abigayle Gotwals and McQuoid landed kills down the stretch, Jessup put down a 5-1 interval to take the set 25-22.
Set 5
The Lions were in a hole early in the deciding set, as JU went ahead 6-2. A Fagundes ace and a Raymond throwdown helped VU get back into the mix, and a McQuoid kill and back-to-back blocks from Long and Henninger brought the deficit down to 11-9. A 4-1 stretch that came mainly from JU errors brought the Vanguard faithful to their feet, as the fifth set was tied at 14-14. The Lions got back-to-back kills thanks to McQuoid and Hobbs to lead 16-15, but unfortunately, the Warriors found the next three points to steal the show with an 18-16 decision.
What Next? Vanguard travels to Westmont on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. match.
