COSTA MESA – The third-ranked Vanguard men's volleyball team treated its fans to a convincing sweep of No. 2 Menlo in Golden State Athletic Conference action on Friday night at The Pit.

What Happened?: The Lions won by set scores of 25-19, 25-16, 25-22 to move to 6-2 on the season and 1-0 in the GSAC. The Oaks fell to 11-2 and 0-1 in conference play.

Vanguard hit an outstanding .358 (40-11-81) for the match and held Menlo to .211 (30-14-76) efficiency. The Lions led statistically in kills (40-30), digs (26-24) and service aces (10-3)

Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) and Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) led the Lions with 12 kills apiece. Roussin swung at a .611 clip with just one error in 18 attempts. Anema also served up five aces.

Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA) had seven kills on .500 hitting. Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) dished out 35 assists in directing the Lions attack.

Set One

Anema set the tone for the Lions as his three straight kills resulted in a 3-1 lead. Anema's fifth kill of the set increased Vanguard's lead to 11-7.

The Oaks got the next point on Konrad Stoklosinski's kill to make it 11-8, but the Lions reeled off five straight points to open up a 16-8 lead. Anema had a kill and two service aces during the run.

The Lions weren't threatened from there, and cruised to the 25-19 victory. Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) sealed the set with a kill.

Set Two

Menlo busted out to a 2-0 lead, but Vanguard answered right back with three straight points. The Oaks wouldn't lead again in the set, but a VU attack error tied the score at 6-6.

From there, the Lions went on a 5-1 run and jumped out to an 11-7 advantage. Roussin and Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) had kills during the run. After a Menlo point, the Lions enjoyed another burst of four straight points and broke open a close set into a 15-8 lead.

The Oaks got no closer than six points the rest of the way. A Menlo service error on set point gave Vanguard the 25-16 victory.

Set Three

The closest of the three sets stayed tight until the very end. Vanguard pulled out to a 5-1 lead on a Linden kill, but Menlo responded with a 5-2 run to close within 7-6.

A VU service error gave Menlo hope as the Oaks trailed just 13-11. However, the Lions scored three straight, punctuated by a pair of Anema aces.

Armed with a five-point lead, the Lions increased their advantage to 20-14 on a Roussin ace. The Lions remained ahead by six following a Stoklosinski attack error at 23-17.

With the match seemingly in hand, the Oaks mustered one last push. The Oaks went on a 5-1 run to pull within 24-22 as a pair of VU attack errors made things interesting.

But Christian Menchaca's service error on match point closed out the set and match as VU took the 25-22 victory.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions potentially could be the No. 1 team when the next NAIA rankings come out next week. Current No. 1 Grand View (Iowa) lost last week, leaving open the possibility that the winner of Vanguard-Menlo could assume the top spot. The Lions opened up their 10-match GSAC schedule with a big win.

What Was Said?: "Tonight was a great start to the conference for us," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter. "We know we have quite a few battles ahead of us with the rest of the GSAC. We came out with an assertiveness to play clean and efficient and that was on display through most of the match. That is a good team that will be even better when we see them next."

What's Next?: Vanguard is back in action on Wednesday, February 23 with another GSAC opponent on tap. The Lions host Hope International at 7:00 p.m. in The Pit.