Faulkner: Lions writing history

The Vanguard University women’s volleyball program is still enjoying the afterglow of its first Golden State Athletic Conference championship, completed Saturday.

But it is also one week removed from what Coach Eryn Leja considers an equally seminal moment in a glorious season that will continue in the NAIA Tournament, Dec. 1-5 in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Lions, ranked No. 6 in the final regular-season NAIA poll, were ranked an unprecedented No. 4 and riding a 16-match winning streak with a chance to wrap up the GSAC crown with a win at second-place Biola on Nov. 10.

But the host Eagles, ranked No. 6 at the time, treated to their senior-night crowd to a 25-11, 25-19, 25-19 thumping of the Lions, who then topped Hope International at home on Saturday to earn the outright crown.

But the loss to Biola was, Leja believes, a blessing.

“We totally needed a wake-up call,” said Leja, 28, the GSAC Coach of the Year in her fifth season at the helm. “We had been winning and were on this win streak and had had some tough matches along the way, but we still won them. It’s never going to sting as much unless you walk out of the gym without a win, so for us to finally feel that made us think: ‘OK, what do we need to do here?’ [The players] kind of got their bell rung a little bit and they said, ‘If we are going to the national tournament and playing teams like [Biola] every match, we have to make a serious change.’

“I thought it might be in four or five games and not three, but I was honestly praying during the National Anthem that if God wanted these girls to lose that night, I’m right there with him,” Leja said. “I felt like if that’s what we needed to do, then that’s what we needed to do. It stung and hurt us a bit, but is also gave the girls a new perspective and a new hunger for the postseason.”

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•That hunger has been growing continuously in recent years for the Lions (22-5, 15-1 in conference), who are making their fifth straight appearance in the NAIA Tournament. Vanguard receives an opening-round bye to join what will be 24 teams at the final-site event in Iowa, and will be a No. 1 seed in its four-team pool. The top two teams from each pool advance to single-elimination bracket play.

Last season, Vanguard advanced from its pool, despite being a No. 4 seed, and was two points from reaching the quarterfinals.

“Everything has to change [in the NAIA Tournament,” Leja said. “Everyone goes in with a clean slate and it doesn’t matter what you have done, because anybody can win it.”

For the first time, there are those beyond the Costa Mesa campus that believe Vanguard is a legitimate national championship contender.

“Inch-by-inch every year, we are getting a little more credibility nationally,” Leja said. “A program like Biola has put in the work, year after year, and has earned the recognition it has received. Vanguard hasn’t. We haven’t been a powerhouse every year. We are just on the brink of that. With Biola leaving the NAIA [to compete on the NCAA Division II level beginning the fall of 2017, as longtime former GSAC power Concordia began doing this fall], we want to be considered that premier West Coast institution that everyone considers to be a powerhouse.”

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•The road to nationally elite status — at which Vanguard men’s and women’s soccer, baseball and men’s basketball have been aiming to join Coach Russ Davis’ women’s basketball program in recent years — has been slow, but progressive during Leja’s tenure.

“I try to do something bigger and better every year and I feel like I’ve worked hard to change the culture since I got here,” Leja said. “Every season, we’ve been able to get better and better athletes. And not just better athletes, but people who buy in and believe in changing the culture here. We’re getting closer. First, it was top 25, then top 18, then top 10. I hope we can make a big run this year and make it to the Elite Eight. There is no big-gun team this year that everyone in the NAIA says ‘I don’t want that team in my pool.’ I think there will be 24 solid teams in Iowa and among the top 10, anyone can win it. It’s going to be interesting.”

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•Things are routinely interesting at Vanguard, where Leja’s office is smaller than some storage closets, sitting on the second floor overlooking a gym with one of the smallest seating capacities in collegiate athletics.

“Every year, our preseason talk is ‘We are Vanguard. We have a tiny gym and we have hardly any money for extra things, but we are going to try to go win the national title,’” Leja said. “And every year, our girls get fired up, because they know they have that working against them. But they don’t care, because they all want to leave a lasting impact on the program. This year, especially for the seniors, they are most proud of being a part of something Vanguard had never done. That is pretty special.”