SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Women's volleyball dropped Wednesday night's trip to Golden Gymnasium against #20 Point Loma in straight sets (13-25, 8-26, 13-25). The Lion offense struggled with a conference low .056 (17-13-72) hitting percentage and lowest kill count of the decade. Point Loma fired on all cylinders with a season-high .400 hitting percentage (42-10-80). They also dominated in serve receive, with a season-best 15-0 ace advantage their largest haul at the service line since October 2021. VU's third loss in a row moves them to 5-9 and 3-4 in the Pacific West Conference. Loma lifts to 10-4, 6-2.
What Happened? Vanguard had its best set of the night in the opening frame, hitting .125 (8-5-24), but were countered by PLNU's .458 (13-2-24) clip.
Abigayle Gotwals conducted the game's first kill, stabbing a strike off the twine to score from the outside. Loma spooled an 8-2 run to roll out an early lead, which included back to back service aces.
Kayla Robinson connected with
Sarah Wold to spear down a shot through the middle, as VU began to a find a foothold with their own offense rhythm. VU errored just twice over their next five kills, with Gotwals grabbing a pair,
Meadow Hobbs tagging a back row swing and
Haley Langdon ripping through the right pin as VU came within three of Loma (14-11 PLNU). To VU's misfortune, the kill of was their final of the period, as Loma packed an 11-2 punch to end the stanza and win 25-13.
Set 2 The Loma serving storm heated up with the Sea Lions dropping six aces in the period and hitting a match-best .500 (15-1-28). VU grabbed points at the net with a 2-1 trade in blocks, but were reduced to .080 (6-4-25) attack percentage. This time, Hobbs planted the first VU kills, with the freshman potting three of the team's first four points all from the left pin to make it 5-4 PLNU. An attack error from PLNU was their last of the frame, as Loma packed a swift jab back with a 6-0 run to shepherd an 11-4 lead. A Gotwals kill briefly halted the PLNU push, but the Sea Lions completed another uninterrupted assault as five aces highlighted a 10-1 run to put the hosts in cruise control. Langdon latched onto the final pair of VU kills, but Loma buried the set with a kill from an overpass to win 25-8.
It was the lowest ever VU point total in a 25-point set.
Set 3 Point Loma cooled down to a .250 (14-7-28) percentage to end the match, but VU could not capitalize, as the Blue and Gold slipped to their own match-low -.043 (3-4-23). Loma mounted a 4-0 run to start but coughed up two errors to make it 4-2 PLNU. Then the hosts issued two of their five aces in the set to tally a 9-2 run and go 13-5. The Loma errors continued to add up, while VU's 3-0 lead in blocks helped stack on a few more points. They earned their first kill of the period from Hobbs to help cross double-figures (13-10 PLNU). The Sea Lions put up two more aces and put the set to rest with an 11-1 run, and their fifth ace of the stanza sealing match point. Hobbs offered two late kills for a short-lived Lion reprieve but a VU block error ended the contest with a loss in straight sets.
What's Next? Vanguard will face another PacWest powerhouse, as they head to #25 Biola, Friday, October 5. Opening serve is set for 5 pm.
