Nov. 23, 2008

Article courtesy of Vanguad (Calif.)) Sports Information Office

Costa Mesa, Calif. – Opening Round Match of the 29th Annual NAIA National Volleyball Tournament - The last week has been a blur for the No. 17-ranked Vanguard Lions. Going from narrowly qualifying for the NAIA National Volleyball Tournament with the seventh at-large berth to learning that they would host an Opening Round match, the blur continues for the Lions as they have now won the Opening Round match against Union University and will have to start packing their bags for Sioux City, Iowa. Vanguard earned a 3-1 victory this evening against the Union University Lady Bulldogs, sealing the victory with a 27-25 decision in the deciding fourth set. The teams traded 25-22 scores in the first two sets before the Lions claimed a 25-20 win in set three to take a 2-1 lead heading into set number four.

The Lions charged into the first set with a strong and accurate attacking game against the visiting Lady Bulldogs, taking a 17-11 lead on a kill by junior Heather DeJongh. Union took a timeout and immediately cut Vanguard’s lead in half, leading to a timeout for the Lions. Vanguard maintained the three-point lead and completed the 25-22 victory on a kill by senior Michal Shortridge. The Lions tallied 17 kills against only three attacking errors for a hitting percentage of .424, with DeJongh and All-GSAC Kelsey Wirt leading the way with five kills each.

Union bounced back with a 25-22 win of its own to tie the match as the Lady Bulldogs were flawless from the attacking line in the second set, registering 15 kills in 30 attempts with no attacking errors (.500%). Union led by as many as seven points, 17-10, but the Lions crawled back to within three points before eventually dropping the second set. The Lions didn’t post a single block in the contest as UU setter Katie Adams spread her 11 assists out between five different attackers.

Vanguard regained the momentum in the third set, despite a large and spirited Union crowd clad in red at The Pit. The Lions trailed early, but seemed to gain a lot of confidence upon erasing the deficit and tying the score 10-10. VU outscored Union 15-10 the rest of the way with libero Alex Griffiths landing the set-ending ace for the 25-20 victory, putting the Bulldogs’ backs against the wall.

The Lions roared to a 4-0 start in set four, but Union remained composed and quickly turned the tables, out-scoring the hosts 14-6 to take a 14-10 advantage. Trailing 20-15, the Lions called a timeout as things were not going well on VU’s side of the court. The Vanguard crowd rallied around the Lions and the team charged back with a determined energy that was put to good use. DeJongh stepped up with three big kills and a couple of Lion blocks pulled Vanguard back into the set, down only 23-21 when Union called its final timeout. Junior Jessica Roy and DeJong slammed kills that helped VU tie the set 24-24. A block by Wirt and Roy put the Lions ahead 25-24, but a Vanguard mistake brought another tie, 25-25. This time Wirt would step up and hit the go-ahead kill for VU and a Bulldog miscue sealed the 27-25 win and a 3-1 victory for the Lions.

Ashley Young (15), Emilie Ogas (11), and Heather Lieberman (10) collected double figures in kills for Union and CJ Neathamer picked up 21 digs to lead all players in the match. Adams tallied 44 assists for the Lady Bulldogs who were making their second NAIA National Tournament appearance. Union, the 2008 TranSouth Champion, ends the season 27-8 overall.

DeJongh notched a season-high 20 kills, followed by Wirt with 17 and Shortridge with 10 kills to fuel VU’s attacking game. Walsh netted a season-high 52 assists and the Lions combined for 10 blocks in the victory. Defensively, the Lions had Griffiths leading the way with 36 digs, Heenan adding 25 digs, and Wirt picking up another 17 digs against the Bulldog attack.