Warriors Outlast OUAZ in GSAC Opener

San Dimas, CA – On Friday night, the Warriors opened up GSAC play at home, facing off against defending GSAC champs, OUAZ.  The Spirit entered conference play with an overall 4-4 record.  The Warriors were electric on the offensive end, hitting .231 for the match, which proved to set the tone early for them.  LPU took the match 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-18) and move to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in GSAC play.  They will come back to Mehl Court tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, as they face off against Arizona Christian.

To start the match, the Spirit came out and were the aggressors, with Livia De Pra getting a couple of early kills to help establish their lead.  The Warriors hung around with OUAZ, but could not quite get over the hump.  Although the Spirit did a good job of keeping LPU at bay, the Warriors eventually were able to take the lead on a Hannah Caddow kill, taking the lead 18-17.  Once they got the lead, they did not look back, as Mackenzie Grooms, Audrianna Guzman, and Caddow had big-time kills, helping LPU take the first set 25-23.  Caddow led the way with 7 kills in the first set.  Lindsey Johnson did an outstanding job early distributing the ball around.  She finished the match with 30 assists in 4 sets.

The Warriors carried into the next set with momentum, getting off to an early lead.  They were able to force the Spirit to use a timeout, as LPU led 14-11 thanks to a service run by Lindsey Johnson. Bailey Collette and Mackenzie Stewart made a huge impact in the second set, leading to the Warriors maintaining their offensive consistency.  Allison Ayala and Emma McMillan were steady on the back line, tallying dig after dig in the second set.  Following the timeout, OUAZ took control of the second set, going on a 7 point service-run by De Pra, to take an 18-14 lead.  They did not look back and evened up the match at 1 set each.

In the third set, the Spirit came out of the gates hot and took a quick 4-1 lead.  The Warriors responded immediately, evening the score up at 4 points.  Daniela H'Orvath had 2 key aces in the middle of the set, leading to the Warriors taking the lead.  That was it for the rest of the set, as the Warriors built a sizable lead, thanks to a service run by Lindsey Johnson, that saw Hannah Caddow record 7 more kills in the set.  OUAZ was able to claw back and narrow the Warrior lead to 17-13, but LPU responded, going on an eight point service run, by Mackenzie Stewart, taking a commanding 24-13 lead.  They won the 3rd set 25-14.

In what would prove to be the final set, the Warriors were fueled by the freshman setter, Maddie Robertson, who came in and controlled the pace of play.  She had 5 assists in the fourth set, helping Mackenzie Grooms find her groove on the attack, as she put her in positions to succeed on the attack.  The Warriors ultimately took the final set 25-18 and the match 3-1.  Hannah Caddow led the way for the Warriors, hitting .354 while getting 23 kills in only 4 sets (5.75 kills/set).  She also tallied 13 digs and 2 blocks for the match.  Lindsey Johnson led the way with an impressive 30 assists in four sets, even with the Warriors running a 6-2.  Mackenzie Stewart did a little bit of everything as she finished with 6 kills, 7 digs, and 5 blocks.

As Coach Wes Schneider reflected on the Warrior's first GSAC win of the season, he stated, "Our first conference win felt amazing.  The team really came together well and weathered the storm from a really strong OUAZ team.  It was a complete and total team effort tonight.  We were led by our All-American, Hannah Caddow, who was insane tonight, and the team fed off of that energy."

Match Stats Leaders

Kills

• Hannah Caddow - 23 (.354 hitting percentage)
• Bailey Collette - 10
• Audrianna Guzman - 9
• Mackenzie Stewart - 6

Assists

• Lindsey Johnson - 30
• Daniela H'Orvath - 11
• Maddie Robertson - 5
• Allison Ayala - 5

Digs

• Allison Ayala - 14
• Hannah Caddow - 13
• Emma McMillan - 12

Aces

• Daniela H'Orvath - 2
• 4 Others - 1

Blocks

• Mackenzie Stewart - 5
• Audrianna Guzman - 4

Upcoming Schedule

• September 10th vs. Arizona Christian
  • 2pm
  • Mehl Court