DES MOINES, Iowa - The sixth-ranked Vanguard University Men's Volleyball team (12-4) fell to a familiar foe in #2 Benedictine - Mesa (Ariz.) (18-0) in the semifinals of the 2021 NAIA Men's Volleyball National Tournament. The defending champions pushed their record to 5-0 against the Lions as they earned a four-set victory by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 32-34, and 25-19. 

What Happened? Kyle Anema paced the Lions with two early kills in the first set before the Redhawks responded with a 5-1 run to push out to a 9-5 lead. John Dawson would find the hardwood on back-to-back occasions to force a VU timeout. Out of the timeout, Christian Nowtash would record to kills as the Pride cut their deficit down to five. A block by Cody Watts and Bryce Thompson and a kill by Anema would make it a 20-22 game in favor of BENU, but that was as close as the Lions would get in the first set as they dropped the first set by a score of 22-25. 

Matthew Roussin recorded four kills in the early going of a set that featured seven ties and two lead changes. Down 17-19, Anema recorded two kill and a setting error would put the Pride in front. BENU would counter with a 6-1 run to take the second set, negating the Lions best hitting percentage of the match (.385). Set three was even more competitive as it featured 23 ties and 15 lead changes. Tied up at 25, the Pride were put on the brink multiple times but fought back with timely kills by Anema, Fillipo Meoni, and Valesis Vuisuai. Consecutive attacking errors by Dapre Rogers would give the Lions a hard-fought third-set victory by a score of 34-32. 

In the fourth and final set, the Redhawks rode a 6-2 run to a four-point advantage early on to force a timeout. A block from BENU would give them an eight-point advantage which proved to be too tall of a task to overcome for the Blue and Gold despite a couple of kills from Meoni and Roussin as the Redhawks booked their spot in the finals with a three-set victory. 

Why It's Important? The Lions finished their COVID-shortened season with a 12-4 record while ranking in the top five in the NAIA in service aces per game, assists per game, and hitting percentage. Through their first two years as a program, the team has earned a 22-12 record while going 12-4 in conference play. They had four All-GSAC players, three All-American awardees and Head Coach Brad Rostratter earned recognition as the conference Coach of the Year. 

Top Performers: Kyle Anema led the Lions with 21 kills and six digs while Matthew Roussin also recorded double-digit kills (15) to go with seven digs. Bryce Thompson recorded 51 assists and Cameron Way had a team-high 16 digs to round things our for the Blue and Gold. As a team, the Lions hit .250, had four service aces, and eight total blocks. 

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