COSTA MESA, Calif. - Vanguard (7-3, 5-1) hosted The Master's (3-7, 0-7) on Tuesday evening, where the Lions bested the Mustangs in a three-set sweep 25-7, 25-17, 25-13. Everything was clicking on the offensive end as they recorded one of their best hitting percentages of the season.

After initially exchanging the first eight points evenly, the Pride took control and went on a 10-1 run to take a commanding 14-5 advantage. Tanner Briggs (FR/Valencia, CA) accounted for three kills during a 5-0 spurt by Vanguard, bringing the margin to 19-7. The Blue and Gold held TMU scoreless for the remainder of the set, capping off the victory by back-to-back kills from Cody Watts (FR/Clovis, CA). In the first frame, the Lions connected on .609 percent of their attacks and only had two total errors. 

After a Mustang's kill tied the second set at nine, the Lions began to take command of the game. A couple of blocks from Bryce Thompson (SO/Los Alamitos, CA) and Dylan Garcia (FR/Los Angeles, CA) and two service errors would give Vanguard a 15-12 lead. A kill from Brandon Botdorf would cut TMU's deficit to three, but the Lions would go on a 6-2 run to close out the set.

The Lions began the third set strong with a 7-0 run highlighted by a couple of blocks from Watts. Anema scored three of the seven kills he would record in the third set back-to-back-to-back to make the lead 12-5. Tate Tyler (SR/Murrieta, CA) recorded his first kill of the season to seal the three-set victory, in which the Lions hit .438 as a team. Prior to the match, Vanguard ranked tenth in the NAIA in hitting percentage (.265). 

"Our game went really well. We have a huge week this week with four matches, and starting off strong with a big win was definitely a tremendous accomplishment," said Thompson.

Anema collected fourteen kills with one error, good for a hitting percentage of .591, and tallied eight digs. Tanner Briggs recorded nine kills with one error and two block assists. Thompson had a game-high 36 assists, Colby Cook (JR/Huntington Beach, CA) had a game-high 15 digs, and Watts was a force on the defensive end for the Lions with a total of seven blocks.   

Next Match: Thursday, February 20 against Park-Gilbert at 7 p.m.

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