ATHERTON, Calif. - The (RV) Vanguard Lions (9-5, 5-2) headed down to Atherton, CA to take on the third-ranked Menlo College Oaks (15-0, 7-0) in what would be an intense five-set clash. The Oaks would come out on top with scores of 22-25, 30-28, 25-23, 18-25, 15-8 as they were able to maintain their perfect record overall and in conference play. 

The Pride opened up with an 8-3 advantage over the Oaks in the first set as Kyle Anema (SO/La Mirada, CA) recorded six kills to pace things for the Blue and Gold. A kill from Anema would give VU a 17-12 advantage, but Menlo responded with a 7-1 run that included four blocks to take a 19-18 lead. Both teams would go back and forth but a service ace by Bryce Thompson (SO/Los Alamitos, CA) and two attacking errors by the home team would ensure that the Lions came away with the first set. 

The second set featured 17 ties and eight lead changes as Menlo would ride their best hitting percentage (.333) of the match to the equalizer. The third set was even more tightly contested as neither team could create more than two points of separation from each other at any point. The Pride was able to record 14 kills and only five errors, but the Oaks would escape with a 25-23 victory to go up two games to one. 

In the fourth set, Vanguard would record eight of their 15 total blocks as they only allowed seven kills while forcing Menlo into ten errors. Thompson and Christian Nowtash (SO/Vista, CA) were instrumental in slowing the Oaks' offensive attack as the Lions would force a decisive fifth set with a 25-18 win in the forth. In the fifth set, four kills from Edin Ibrahimovic were instrumental in building a 7-2 advantage early on. Cody Watts (FR/Clovis, CA) recorded a couple of kills late, but Menlo would come away with a 15-8 win. 

Anema would record a game-high 29 kills to go along with nine digs and six total blocks. Watts had nine kills, Dylan Garcia (FR/Los Angeles, CA) tallied seven kills and three service aces, and Thompson dished out 54 assists to go along with eight total blocks. Nowtash rounded things out for the Blue and Gold with a solid performance on both sides of the ball as he recorded nine kills and seven blocks. 

Next Game: Saturday, February 29 at UC Merced at 1:00 p.m.

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