Women’s Volleyball: Lions off to Iowa

Driving in Iowa this time of year can be perilous. But there’s nothing a little ice and snow can throw at the Vanguard University women’s volleyball team that is more hazardous than its road to the NAIA Tournament has been.

The No. 21-ranked Lions swept Concordia of Oregon, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament on Saturday to earn their second straight trip to the 24-team final site event beginning Dec. 2 in Sioux City, Iowa.

“For whatever reason, we have faced a lot of adversity this year,” said Vanguard Coach Eryn Leja, whose Lions, playing their final home match of the season, won their fourth straight match with very little tumult. “That’s just the [arduous] way our season has gone, but we’ve been trying to tell the girls that it’s a brand new season. It’s a clean slate. I think [the players] are getting on board with that. I think they are starting to believe that maybe all the bad things have happened for a reason. Maybe we’re supposed to have a brand new postseason that is going to be awesome.”

The Lions (23-11) led nearly wire-to-wire against the Cavaliers (19-10) in a battle of at-large entries. After trailing, 6-4, in the first set, Vanguard settled in and lashed out. After surging ahead, 7-6, in the first game, the hosts trailed only once more, falling down, 1-0, in the final set.

“We’ve been struggling starting matches, so that was a goal we had all week in practice,” Leja said. “We just felt that if we could jump on them early, we could set a good tone for the rest of the match. And we did.”

Senior Jessica Chase was doing a lot of the jumping, and swinging for the Lions, posting six of her 10 kills and hitting .545 in the opening set.

“[Chase] probably had the best practices she has had all season this week,” Leja said of the 5-foot-11 sophomore, who came off the bench for only the sixth time in 33 matches. “She just kind of came alive. I think she just needed to start swinging without any fear.”

Rachael Barker, a junior who contributed to the aforementioned adversity by missing a chunk of the season with an injury, also finished with 10 kills and hit .375 for the winners, who hit .274 as a team, 251 points better than the visitors.

Junior Sarah McKinny, one of three all-conference performers for the Lions, had seven kills, two solo blocks and four block assists.

Golden State Athletic Conference Libero of the Year, senior Kelly Heenan, had 10 of her match-high 17 digs in the opening set.

Jessica Neves, a senior All-GSAC opposite, had seven kills, hit .429 and chipped in three block assists, while junior Charlotte Heerlyn had seven kills and two block assists to add to a well-balanced attack.

Setters Lauren Hays and Kelly Dalrymple had 15 and 13 assists, respectively, while junior middle blocker Stephanie Flores had two solo blocks and two block assists.

Kiana Nicio, Amanda Sappington, Kendall Haldi and Dalrymple each had aces for the winners.

Also vital to the cause was the moral support provided by senior Ashli Bellinger, an outside hitter who watched from the bench on crutches. Bellinger, one of the team’s captains who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 13 and had major reconstructive surgery earlier this month, was savoring every last point with her teammates, who will leave her behind on the trip to Iowa.

“It’s really heartbreaking, because even though we are all excited to be going to Iowa, Ashli hasn’t been cleared to travel, so she can’t come,” said Leja, who identified Bellinger’s injury as a pivotal point in the campaign.

“It’s going to be weird without her [in Iowa], because she has been such a huge part of our success,” said Leja, who noted that some hardships this season included some players leaving the team.

“[Bellinger] was probably our biggest loss,” Leja said. “She was one of our captains and she is like our heartbeat. So when she went out, it took us a long time to get back to our game.”

Bellinger, who was wiping away tears after the victory, said she plans to utilize technology from home to stay up to date with her teammates, on and off the court.

“I’m going to be paying to watch the matches on the Internet and I will be face-timing [through electronic devises] with my team,” Bellinger said. “I told them when they are playing board games, they have to prop [her image on a phone or tablet] up, so I can watch. I will definitely be there in spirit.”