COSTA MESA – Newly minted No. 1 in the NAIA national rankings, the Vanguard men's volleyball team breezed to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 victory over Hope International in Golden State Athletic Conference action on Wednesday at The Pit.

The Lions improved to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in GSAC play, while the Royals fell to 4-7 and 0-2.

What Happened?: Vanguard hit .377 for the match, winning the battle in kills (41-26), service aces (11-0) and blocks (6.0-4.0). The Royals swung at a .162 clip and had eight service errors.

Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) collected a match-high 12 kills on .500 hitting. Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) tallied nine kills and hit .438 overall, while chipping in four aces.

Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) hit .417 (6-1-12) and Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) also had a solid match with five kills, three digs and four aces. Meoni hit .364.

Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) handed out 38 assists and tallied three block assists, and Cameron Way (SR/Dana Point, CA) had a match-high 10 digs.

Vanguard has amassed 31 aces total in its last three wins.

Set 1

The Lions used a 7-0 spurt to take an early 8-2 lead. The Royals got no closer than five points the rest of the set. Two kills from Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA) and another from Roussin opened up a 17-10 lead.

Roussin and Linden teamed up for a double block on Isaac Liva to give VU a 23-15 advantage, and a Royal attack error gave the Lions the 25-18 set one win.

Roussin had five kills in the frame, followed by Anema and Nowtash with three.

Set 2

Hope International earned the first point on a VU service error, but that was the only lead of the set for the Royals.

The two teams stayed within three points of each other as Hope International trailed 13-10 after a kill from Gabriel Posada. The Lions then scored three straight, topped off with a kill from Meoni to make it 16-10.

The VU run eventually became 7-3 as a bad set by the Hope setter increased VU's lead to 20-13.

Three HIU attack errors and a Roussin kill led to the 25-16 set two victory as the Lions hit .500 (13-1-24) in the frame.

Roussin again had five kills to lead the Lions, while Anema contributed three.

Set 3

The third set was tight early on with the two teams tied at 3-3. Vanguard went on a 3-0 run to take a 6-3 lead, but Hope International responded with four of the next five points to knot the score at 7-7.

It was VU's turn to make a run, and that they did, going on a 7-1 burst to take a 14-8 lead. Meoni served up three aces during the burst.

The Lions kept the Royals at bay from there, extending the cushion to 20-11 on a kill from Cody Watts (JR/Clovis, CA). The Royals scored four straight to close within 20-15, but the Lions took the third set 25-17.

Meoni led the Lions in kills in set three with four, while Watts posted three. The Lions dominated from the service line with seven aces in the set.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions had no letdown after learning of their No. 1 ranking, and have now swept their opponent in each of their last five victories.

What Was Said?: "We are making strides to keep improving how we play volleyball and that is a continual journey through each day we have," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter. "Tonight we made strides forward in reception and with our serves as a collective."

What's Next?: Vanguard hosts No. 12 The Master's on Friday, February 25 at 6:00 p.m., playing the fourth of five straight matches at home.