ATHERTON, Calif. – Trailing two sets to none, the Vanguard men's volleyball team rallied against No. 2 Benedictine Mesa and prevailed in five sets to conclude the Oaks Invitational on Sunday afternoon.

Set scores went 16-25, 28-30, 28-26, 26-24, 15-12. The win exacted a measure of revenge for the Lions, which fell in last year's NAIA Tournament semifinals against the Redhawks.

What Happened?: The Lions held down the potent Redhawks offense over the final three sets to engineer the reverse sweep victory. After Benedictine Mesa hit .611 in the first set and .355 in the second, Vanguard limited the Redhawks to .086 hitting efficiency (27-21-70) the remainder of the match.

VU also won without First Team All-American outside hitter Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA), getting double-digit kill performances from Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy), Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) and Jacob Van Groningen (SO/Manteca, CA). Meoni had a team-high 13 kills on .400 hitting. Roussin added 12 kills, while Van Groningen swung at a .474 clip en route to 11 putaways.

Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) dished out 40 assists directing the Lion offense.

Roussin also had a match-high tying four service aces.

Caleb Stearman and Charles Pollnow each collected 16 kills for Benedictine Mesa, but the Lions held both attackers under .200 hitting for the match.

Set One

The first set was tight early as the Lions trailed 5-4. Benedictine Mesa took the next five points to go up 10-4, and eventually extended the lead to 18-8. Stearman led the Redhawks with five kills in the frame and he sealed the set at 25-16.

Set Two

The second frame remained tight throughout. The Lions trailed by no more than four points at any point. Down 15-11, VU caught the Redhawks with a 7-3 spurt to tie the set at 18-18. Stearman put a ball away to give Benedictine a 21-19 advantage, but the Lions stormed back with four straight points as Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA)'s ace provided a 23-21 lead. The Redhawks countered with three straight to create set point at 24-23, but a service error tied things up. The score would remained tied on four more occasions until a VU service error and Stearman kill cemented the 30-28 victory for Benedictine.

Set Three

The Lions jumped out to a 4-1 lead on a double stuff from Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) and Thompson. The Redhawks tied the score at 6-6, but could not grab the lead as VU used a 4-0 burst to go up 15-10. The Lions looked to be in control when a Pollnow error made the score 18-11. The Redhawks countered though with an 8-2 run to close within 20-19. VU committed four attack errors during that stretch to let its opponent back into the set. An attack error by Benedictine gave VU a 23-21 lead, but the Redhawks continued to fight and took the lead at 24-23 on Pollnow's kill, setting up match point. Van Groningen responded with a huge kill to tie the score as the teams headed to extra points once again. Tied at 26-26, the Lions closed out the set as Meoni got a kill, followed by a double block from Linden and Meoni.

Set Four

Neither team led by more than three points in another tight affair. Vanguard led early on at 8-6 on a kill by Linden. The Lions remained ahead by two, 15-13, on a Benedictine service error. The Redhawks pulled ahead by two, 18-16, on a Pollnow kill. The lead increased to three at 20-17 as John Dawson put one away. VU won five of the next seven points to tie the set at 22-22. The Lions staved off match point for a second straight set when, trailing 24-23, captured the next three points. Van Groningen tied the scoreline at 24-24 with a kills, and two straight Redhawk attack errors gave VU the 26-24 victory.

Set Five

Vanguard looked to be in trouble as Benedictine raced out to a 4-1 lead. But the Lions tied the match at 8-8, helped along by three Redhawk service errors. The match was tied at 9-9, 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. Pollnow put the Redhawks ahead at 12-11 with a kill, but VU won the final four points to take the victory. John Dawson committed attack errors on three of those final four points, while Meoni had the kill on the other.

Why Is It Important?: Vanguard finished the opening weekend of the season with a 2-1 record, winning a pair of matches against top-15 teams. The third-ranked Lions defeated No. 15 UC Merced on Saturday.

What Was Said?: "We knew we weren't going to be the most efficient volleyball team going into this weekend of competition and that proved to be true," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter. " With that our team emphasized competing for every single point. That was demonstrated throughout tonight's match and all weekend. Lions are tough and it was on display tonight."

What's Next?: VU hopes to finally play its home opener next weekend as Simpson is scheduled to travel to The Pit on Saturday, January 29. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m.