Atherton, CA -- Returning to the court within 24 hours of their opening night loss, Vanguard men's volleyball encountered quite the battle on Saturday as they faced #15 UC Merced.  The Bobcats gave VU everything and then some, forcing the match to go to extra rallies in three sets in addition to making the Lions play all five sets.  Even though Merced came close, the Blue and Gold were able to pull out the victory 25-15, 26-28, 24-26, 25-13, 21-19.  VU goes to 1-1 overall, as do the Bobcats.

What Happened?  The Lions were certainly humming along in the first frame, as the squad hit .381 and held Merced to a .077 hitting percentage. Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) got VU on the board after the Bobcats got the first point of the match.  Number nine put down two more in short order to help the Lions edge out to a slim 3-2 lead.  Both sides then made some errors but VU started to edge away, with Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) netting his first kill of the day.  Ahead 10-6, Vanguard hit the gas pedal and did not look back, making a 10-4 run to go ahead 20-to-10.  Each side would score five points each, with Roussin and Valesis Vaisuai (SO/Hayward, CA) propelling VU to a set one victory 25-15.

Set Two

While the first set was easy for the Lions, the rest of the match proved to be much more of a challenge.  Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) got VU on the board after the Lions surrendered the first point of the frame, and the second set remained tied for the next few rallies.  The Lions then went cold, making a couple of errors to go down 8-4.  Despite that, Nowtash and Anema each got kills to pull the squad to within one at 10-11.  Merced then got the next few points but Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA), Roussin, and a couple of errors by the Bobcats leveled the game at 13-13.  The lead then bounced between the two teams until it was 19-all.  The Bobcats then sprinted away to a 23-19 advantage, but the #3 team in the NAIA was not rattled, as the Lions got kills from Linden and Anema to help knot the score at 25-25.  Vaisuai then kept the game tied with a powerful kill to make it 26-all, but a kill by Merced and an error from VU let the Bobcats take set two 28-26.  VU hit .167 while Merced hit .125.

Set Three

The Loins and the Bobcats again exchanged points early in the first, with neither side going up by more than one.  Merced took the first two-point lead at 11-9 but Roussin and Linden erased that gap to tie the game at 12-12.  Both teams remained in lockstep as the set moved along, with proceedings still tied late in the set at 24-24.  However, the Bobcats then got a kill, and in the moment of truth, an attack error from VU gave Merced the 26-24 victory in the period.  The Lions had 14 kills and five errors, good for a .310 hitting percentage, with Merced hitting .407.

Set Four

The Lions were on the verge of taking their second loss and responded in a manner that helped to take them off the precipice.  Down 2-0 early, a block from Linden and Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) got the team going, with those two then each getting kills to give VU a 5-2 lead.  The squad then kept that buffer until the middle portion of the set.  Anema proceeded to go on a tear, delivering three kills over a short span, as Vanguard climbed to a 17-10 lead.  Kills from Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) and Nowtash helped to push VU close to the set win, with Roussin closing the door with an ace to take set four 25-13 to force a fifth and final set.  The Lions hit at a blistering .545 clip, with 15 kills and three errors.  Merced hit .095.

Set Five

The final period was again a back and forth event.  Thompson struck first in the frame but the Bobcats leveled the score immediately.  Anema and Linden gave the Lions a 5-3 lead but once more, Merced tied the game.  The squads marched through the rallies until Linden made back-to-back kills to give the Lions a 14-13 lead.  Despite that, the reigning Gold State Athletic Conference Champions could not end the match, as Merced tied the game once more.  The Bobcats then had two consecutive chances to take the win but Nowtash stepped up and pounded down a kill both times to keep the match going.  The Lions then went up 18-17 but a service error tied the game yet again.  Tied at 19-19, the Lions finally broke through, with Roussin getting a kill to put the team ahead 20-19 and the Bobcats making an error to give VU the set 21-19 and the match 3-2.  Vanguard hit .500 in the final set, with 14 kills and only one error.

For the day, VU hit .358, with 69 kills and 21 errors, while Merced hit .206, with 54 kills and 27 errors.  Anema topped both teams with 25 kills, hitting at a .378 rate, with only eight errors on the day.  Nowtash had 13 kills and two errors, while Linden was perfect on the day with 11 kills and no errors on 15 attempts.  Thompson had the most assists in the game with 54.  The Lions had four service aces, one solo block, 19 block assists, and 46 total digs.  Cameron Way (SR/Dana Point, CA) had 10 digs to top the team, with Anema next with nine and Thompson third with eight.

What was said? "We battled and fought thru not playing consistently good volleyball," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter.  "Our group showed the power and strength of the team with a strong competitive spirit, which was highlighted in the fourth and fifth sets."

Why is it Important?  This is the second win for the Lions over Merced, with the previous meeting coming in the first year of the program, with Merced unranked at the time.

What's Next?  The team will stay in Atherton and play its nemesis Benedictine of Mesa tomorrow, January 23, at 2:00 p.m.  VU is searching for its first win over the Redhawks in what will be the sixth match between the two programs.