Warriors Fall to Vanguard in Four

By Brandon Petersen

It was a very tight contest that was a point away from heading to five games at more than one point, but in the end, the Warriors fell to Vanguard Tuesday night at Goldenwest College in four sets, 25-18, 18-25, 19-25, 27-29.

Westcliff started the game firing on all cylinders and perhaps surprised the Lions with their added firepower, which is very impressive — Head coach Kenny Ma and is coaching staff brought in an amazing recruiting class.

Behind the pinpoint service of Maddie Shepston and the net dominance of Fiona Moesching and Elise Brown, Westcliff looked dominant at times in the first set, cruising to a seven-point win. 

But that was all the surprise the Lions were willing to stomach. 

Vanguard clapped back in sets two and three, capturing each set without much resistance.

Backs against the wall, the Warriors (2-3) responded in the fourth, taking the stanza to set point on two occasions, but Vanguard (6-3) clutched up at the most important moments — evened it, then took it down the stretch. 

Moesching finished with a team-high 16 kills, while Brown turned in 12 and Shepston had eight. 

Ava Himstreet was impressive in the back row digging 19, including some rockets, and Shepston added 13 of her own. 

Michelle Do was fantastic in the passing lanes, wracking up 27 assists. 

The Warriors travel to Cal Tech next Wednesday for an out-of-conference showdown. 

First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.