COSTA MESA, Calif. – Vanguard hit .492 overall and held Saint Katherine to .111 efficiency, overwhelming the Firebirds in a 25-12, 25-15, 25-20 victory at The Pit on Wednesday.

The Lions won their fourth straight to improve to 4-1 overall, while the Firebirds fell to 0-6 on the season.

What Happened?: Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) led the Lions with eight kills. Meoni hit. 389 (8-1-18) while Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) swung at a .667 (7-1-9) clip.

Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) hit .857 (6-0-7) and added a match-high three service aces.

Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) dished out 19 assists through two sets before giving way to Andrew Piloto (JR/Ontario, CA) in the third set.

Tomas Berales (JR/Newburg, OR) led the Lion back row with nine digs.

Set One

The Lions came out firing as a pair of Meoni kills helped build a 4-0 lead. Vanguard scored three straight to increase the lead to 13-6 as Jacob Van Groningen (SO/Manteca, CA) polished off the run with a kill.

After a Firebirds timeout, VU committed a service error to make it 13-7, but the Lions responded with a 5-2 run to go up 18-9.

The Lions led by eight at 19-11 and closed out the set scoring six of the last seven points. Saint Katherine committed three attack errors during that stretch.

Set Two

Things were fairly close early on a VU service error had the Firebirds trailing by just two at 5-3. But Vanguard quickly put distance with a 7-1 run to lead 11-4. Three consecutive Roussin aces forced a Firebirds timeout.

The Lions maintained their seven-point lead at 18-11 when a Saint Katherine service error and Nowtash kill gave Vanguard a nine-point edge.

Saint Katherine would get no closer than seven the rest of the way. Nate McIlvaine (SO/Murrieta, CA) and Van Groningen used back-to-back putaways to close out the 25-15 set two victory.

Set Three

Vanguard emptied the bench to give others some opportunity for playing time. Valesis Vaisuai (SO/Hayward, CA), Kenneth Buen (SR/Las Vegas, NV) and Declan Holder (SR/Irvine, CA) got into the match.

The Lions led 7-4 early on as errors continued to plague Saint Katherine. The Firebirds closed within 9-7 on a kill by Isaac Laing. They crept within 10-9 on a double block, but the Lions pressed on with a 7-2 run to create distance. Four straight errors – three on a service miscue and three more on swings – gave Vanguard a 17-11 lead.

Saint Katherine made it somewhat close, getting to within three at 21-18 and 23-20. But the Lions finished things off on a Saint Katherine service error and Holder ace, winning set three 25-20.

Why Is It Important?: Vanguard hit a season-high .492 in winning its second straight by sweep.

What Was Said?: "It was an efficient night for us offensively, which was an area we have been working on cleaning up as a group," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter. "We got plenty to improve upon and we are excited to get back to work tomorrow."

What's Next?: The schedule gets significantly tougher for third-ranked Vanguard as No. 10 Georgetown (Ky.) visits The Pit on Friday for a 4:00 p.m. match.