SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – A career day from
Haylee Long was instrumental for the Vanguard Lions (4-5, 2-0), as they iced out the Dominican Penguins (3-7, 0-2) in straight sets (27-25, 25-21, 25-21) inside the Conlan Center.
Long's 13 kills were the most for VU today as well as a personal-best for the junior's career. Even with the La-Habra native being the headliner , a full team victory was in the cards for the Vanguard, as three other Lions had eight kills between
Meadow Hobbs,
Haley Langdon, and
Abigayle Gotwals. Hobbs also had a career-best 18 digs, with Libero
Kate Fagundes pacing the afternoon with 18.
The two setters in
Macy Kavanaugh and
Julia Ringenberg had 22 and 16 assists, respectively, with Kavanaugh's mark being her season-best.
Dominican was led by Kristina Atonio's 10 kills, and the Penguins as a whole outblocked VU 7-4.
What happened?
Less than 24 hours prior to the battle in San Rafael, Vanguard had just claimed its first conference victory by beating Jessup. A long drive over to the Bay would not deter the Lions from its mission of claiming two victories to open up PacWest play.
Despite a slow opening to the tune of a 4-1 deficit, the Lions would soon find their groove. Down 6-3,
Kayla Henninger found a pocket down the middle for a kill, kickstarting a 6-0 run that would also feature one of VU's five aces for the match from the hand of Ringenberg.
A brief rebuttal was had by the Penguins, but the 6-0 run from earlier then saw roles reversed: Ringenberg continued with her first-set impact, picking up a savvy kill before Henninger then got an ace of her own, highlighting a 5-1 run for VU (14-9, VU). The score would see-saw from there, but Langdon and Long would have two kills apiece to push VU to a 23-17 advantage.
However, the Penguins gave their first glimpse of their mettle here. Rather than go away quietly, they continued to force VU to play for all 25 points, resulting in four Vanguard attack errors as part of a 7-0 DUC run (24-23, DUC).
But the Lions turned to a senior presence to steady the ship, as
Kayla Robinson got on the board with a kill to force a tiebreak at 24-all. Robinson and
Grace McQuoid would combine on a block to break first, but Dominican's Kalaya Phung brought the house down to answer back.
Haylee Long's next attack was too hot to handle for the Penguins, before
Meadow Hobbs ultimately ended the set off of a recycle.
Set two would begin with three lead changes and four ties within the first 10 points. But again, the Lions had a big run in them. Tied at five, Hobbs and Gotwals would lead VU in five straight points, before aiding an additional mini-burst of a 4-1 run put the Lions up 15-8. A couple of VU attack and service errors kept Dominican in the contest, until the hosts got on a roll with three straight kills to apparently seize momentum as they did late in set 1 (20-18, VU). This time, it was Langdon would be the initial extinguisher for the Lions, with Long tacking on two more kills, before Kavanaugh would share in Ringenberg's success from the first set with a 'dump' of her own to put the good guys up two-sets-to-none.
The final set proved to be the Penguins' best punch, with a 6-1 run to open. But Henninger and Long again showed that the Lions response on this day could come from a plethora of options. Twice it was Long and once Henninger as the Lions whittled back to down 6-8. The latter then had an ace, while her fellow middle in Robinson, who had a quiet day by her impressive standards, picked up her fourth kill to escort the Blue and Gold to an 11-10 lead.
Both teams would exchange mini-runs, highlighted by a pair of Kavanaugh aces for the Lions and one for DUC, until the score rested at 15-all. Hobbs and Long again continued to rack up kills, and the Lions graciously accepted DUC's attack errors to eke out to a 19-16 edge.
Long, Gotwals, and Langdon would all score again, with Henninger picking up an assist out-of-system on Langdon's, giving Vanguard match-point at 24-20. After a small hiccup on service for VU, Dominican's attack out of the back row went long to give the Lions the sweep on the day and of NorCal.
Of note:
Vanguard has answered its five-game losing streak to start the season with an active four-game winning streak.
Set one saw both teams struggle to hit, as the Lions had the slight edge at .095 to .023.
Set two, meanwhile, saw Vanguard with one of their best single offensive sets of the season, with 21 kills on .340 and only four errors.
Coach
Jennifer Dorn remarked, "We are thrilled to get two wins on the road to open up our conference. Every set/every match we are continuing to find rhythm and work through the messy parts.
Kate Fagundes played fantastic defense for our 3-0 win with some big-time offense from
Haylee Long!"
Vanguard will need to capitalize on its momentum that it has, as they welcome one of the best teams in the Conference to the Freed on Thursday. Hawaii-Hilo will venture to Costa Mesa for a 6pm matchup in what will be Vanguard's "All-School Dodgeball" theme night.
