COSTA MESA, Calif. - The Vanguard Lions (1-0) made history on Wednesday night, coming away with a three-set sweep victory over the University of Saint Katherine (1-4) in front of a full crowd in The Pit, including the USA Women's Volleyball National Team staff highlighted by legendary head coach Kach Kiraly. 

Vanguard started strong offensively against the Firebirds, with Dylan Garcia (FR/Los Angeles, CA) earning the first-ever point in men's volleyball history with a service ace. Caleb Twyman (JR/Corona, CA) also contributed to the Lions' successful first set with three kills and a .750 hitting percentage. Cody Watts (FR/Clovis, CA) was right behind him with two kills and a perfect hitting percentage. Bryce Thompson (SO/Los Alamitos, CA) supported the Lions' attack with nine assists that ultimately led to the first-ever set win; 25-13.

"It was so awesome! The vibe the whole day was great," remarked Kyle Anema (SO/La Mirada, CA)."Coach Brad prepared us so well for this game and we just felt ready to get out there and compete at a high level."

The Firebirds managed to take the first point of the second set off a kill, but the Lions quickly retaliated with a kill from Twyman. The Blue and Gold kept the offense up with 12 kills and team hitting percentage of .556. Cody Watts led the team defensively with three blocks that resulted in three attack errors for the Firebirds for a second set win 25-10.

Vanguard dominated the third set with 14 kills, the most during a single set during the match, and finished out the night with the first-ever win in program history. Kyle Anema concluded the match with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .458, while Colby Cook (JR/Huntington Beach, CA) led the defense with nine digs. Bryce Thompson racked up 32 assists and Christian Nowtash (SO/Vista, CA) secured the 25-16 win with eight kills and a .727 hitting percentage.

Anema went on to say, "We just had a few small things we wanted to do. We wanted to serve really tough and we also knew who their big hitters were so we identified those guys very early and then we picked them up on the block and just played good defense."

Next Match: The Lions will play on Saturday against Springfield College at 7:00 p.m. in Costa Mesa.

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