COSTA MESA -- Vanguard women's volleyball lost 3-0 to Concordia University Irvine on Tuesday night at the Freed Center for Leadership and Service by set scores of 10-25, 24-26 and 18-25. The Lions' closest set came in the second, when they hit .263 and pushed CUI to 26-24. VU dropped to 5-11 overall and 3-6 in Pacific West Conference games, while CUI improved to 15-0 and 8-0 in the league to stay at the top of the standings.
What Happened?
Saniyah Neal opened the scoring for the home side on a pass from
Macy Kavanaugh, and
Haylee Long,
Abigayle Gotwals and
Meadow Hobbs all recorded kills as the Lions stayed within reach in the opening exchanges. However, VU fell into a 17-5 deficit after CUI edged out to a 7-4 lead before taking 10 of the next 11 points. Down 17-5, Gotwals added two more kills from Kavanaugh later in the set, and
Sarah Wold followed the second with a service ace, but CUI closed the set, 25-10. CUI hit .407 in the first period, with Vanguard at a .000 mark.
Set 2
The Lions repeatedly answered CUI throughout the second set to set up a thrilling ending. The Blue and Gold countered CUI's first push with a
Kayla Robinson kill and a
Julia Ringenberg service ace to tie the set at 4-4, then VU moved ahead 7-6 behind kills from Gotwals and
Daphne Raymond. After a few ties, CUI went ahead by two at 14-12, but Gotwals put down an ace and Ringenberg tagged on another to pull the Lions even at 14-14. Neal delivered kills that tied the set at 17-17 and 18-18 before adding another for a 20-18 VU edge. Another Gotwals strike put the Lions ahead 21-19, but the Golden Eagles swung the next trio of points to take the lead 23-22. Raymond tied it at 23-23 with a good shot and Hobbs finished a Ringenberg assist for a 24-23 lead, but unfortunately, that was VU's peak. CUI closed the set with a kill and consecutive service aces to prevail 26-24. Vanguard hit .263 and CUI hit .344.
Set 3
CUI's middle-set run created separation in the third set, turning a 6-5 margin into an 11-5 deficit for VU. After the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 20-9, VU got a Long kill, a Hobbs kill, and back-to-back aces from
Kate Fagundes to make it 21-13. Long added another kill after CUI reached set point at 24-14, and Neal and Gotwals combined on a block as the Lions won four straight points before the Golden Eagles closed things out with a 25-18 set win. The Golden Eagles hit .296 while Vanguard had a 0.04 mark.
The Lions hit .124 in the match, while CUI had a .349 clip. The visitors won all of the team stats. Gotwals led the Lions with eight kills and 10 points, adding two block assists and one service ace. Kavanaugh finished with a team-high 12 assists while tallying four digs and a kill on her only attack. Neal recorded four kills while hitting .571 and added three total blocks. Hobbs collected a team-best eight digs and added five kills.
What's Next? It is off to Hawaii for the Lions, with a rematch with Hawaii Hilo up first on Saturday.
