COSTA MESA, Calif. - Vanguard (6-3, 4-1) took on Hope International (5-6, 2-4) on Friday evening and snagged their fourth conference win to end their two game losing streak. The Lions took the victory in three close sets with strong offense and capitalizing on the Royals' errors.

The first set was battle between conference foes. HIU took the lead over the Lions 7-3 and continued to dominate offensively. Vanguard struggled to find their rhythm, but slowly began their come back after a kill from Alejandro Hernandez (FR/Hacienda Heights, CA) narrowed the Royal's lead to 13-10. The Pride continued to keep game close and eventually took the lead off a kill from Kyle Anema (SO/La Mirada, CA) 19-18. A block from Cody Watts (FR/Clovis, CA) put the Blue and Gold up 24-19 and the first set victory was secured with a kill from Anema for a final count of 25-23.

Vanguard continued their strong attack into the second set and created a seven point difference between themselves and the Royals. Anema's kill that upped the Lion's lead 9-1 forced HIU to call a timeout to try to rally a comeback, but the Lion's continuous offensive pressure lengthened their lead. A block from Christian Nowtash (SO/Vista, CA) and Dylan Garcia (FR/Los Angeles, CA) forced an attacking error on the Royals and extended their lead 15-6. The Pride's lead carried them to the set point and, though the Royals had managed to narrow the Lion's lead to four, Vanguard took the set 25-20 off a block from Nowtash. 

The Royals managed to keep a tighter third set and kept themselves within reach of the lead. Vanguard snagged the lead early and with HIU close behind, capitalized on every offensive opportunity. The Royals closed in down by one, but a set from Bryce Thompson (SO/Los Alamitos, CA) and a kill from Garcia put the Lions ahead 9-7. Vanguard was able to extend their lead after a block from Anema and Nowtash put the Pride ahead by four points and one handed block from Anema extended the Blue and Gold's lead 14-8. Hope International's slow and steady comeback from a six point deficit was stalled by a kill from Garcia that put Vanguard on top 19-16. The match point came off an error from the Royals and the Pride secured the match victory with a kill from Anema.

"The win felt really good after our two tough losses last weekend. We just really wanted to bounce back this week and just get a big win in conference play," said Anema. "We really wanted to be good on our blocks and have really strong defense tonight."

Anema lead both teams in total kills at 22 and .513 hitting percentage, while Thompson clocked in with 37 assists and Watts ended the night with six blocks. 

Next Match: Tuesday, February 18 against The Master's at 7:00 p.m.

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