COSTA MESA -- Vanguard men's volleyball returned to the Pit for another Golden State Athletic Conference match this week, as The Master's Mustangs squared off against the #1 team in the NAIA.  VU pulled away in the first two sets but needed to go a little deeper in the third set before pulling away to nab a sweep of the #12 team in the NAIA by set scores of 25-21, 25-17, and 25-21.  VU goes to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in the GSAC, while The Master's will drop to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in GSAC play.

What Happened?  The Lions went up 3-0 right off the bat, with a block from Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) and Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA), an attack error, and then a booming kill by Nowtash.  The Mustangs then got their first kill of the night but Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) answered right away for the Blue and Gold.  Ahead 5-2, the Lions got back-to-back kills from Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA) to push the advantage 7-2.  Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) then slammed down a kill and an ace to run the lead up to 9-3, forcing TMU to call a timeout. 

However, the break paid dividends for the guests, as they soon rattled off a run of their own to make the score 12-10.  Vanguard did not get phased by the push and soon restored a five-point lead, as Linden and Roussin each put down kills.  Despite the Mustangs playing better, they could not catch up, as Anema destroyed the final ball of the set to claim the first frame for VU 25-21.  The Lions hit .312 in the period, with 14 kills and four errors.  TMU hit .281, with 13 kills and four errors.

Set Two

The second frame saw the Lions play stronger defensively, as they held the Mustangs to a .000 hitting percentage in the set.  The score was actually close early on, as the lead bounced back and forth over the first few rallies.  Tied at 3-3, the Lions forced The Master's into some errors to roll off four points in succession.  Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) then connected with Thompson to keep the gap at four, netting a pair of kills over a few rallies.  Ahead 10-6, Vanguard would slowly pull away through the middle stages, coming out with an 18-12 lead.  Kills from Linden and Nowtash pushed the team closer to victory, with Meoni and Anema crushing two kills to hand the Lions set two 25-17.  VU hit .269 in the second, with 12 kills and five errors.

Set Three

The Master's tried to set the tone early by rolling out to a 5-2 lead but the home side would have none of it.  An ace from Anema and two kills from Roussin tied the score at 6-6.  Both teams then walked the score up until it was 15-15.  An attack error combined with an ace from Meoni pushed the Blue and Gold ahead 17-to-15, forcing The Master's to call a timeout.  The Lions still came out better, posting the next point, but TMU then got a couple of kills to cut the lead to 20-19.  Roussin and Linden powered down kill shots to restore a three-point lead and the Mustangs would make a couple more errors down the stretch.  That set up Meoni, who took a pass from Anema and buried the ball down to the floor to give Vanguard the third set 25-21 and the match three sets to zero.  VU hit .343 in the third, with 17 kills and five errors.  TMU hit .333, with 11 kills and two errors. 

For the match, Vanguard collected a .312 hitting percentage, recording 43 kills and 14 errors.  Both Linden and Roussin had 11 kills, with Anema and Nowtash next with eight.  Thompson led the way with 37 assists and Cameron Way (SR/Dana Point, CA) paced both sides with 14 digs.  Anema was second with 11 digs.  VU had 11 block assists on the night, with three coming from both Nowtash and Meoni.

Why is it Important?  VU goes to 3-0 against The Master's all-time, with all of the victories being sweeps. 

What's Next?  The Lions will face Concordia Irvine next on Monday, March 1, at 7:00 p.m.