COSTA MESA – In a tightly contested match, the second-ranked Vanguard men's volleyball team outlasted No. 8 Benedictine Mesa in three sets, winning by scores of 25-23, 25-23, 25-22 on Thursday night at The Pit.

The Lions won their sixth match in a row to improve to 15-5 on the season. Ten of their victories have come by sweep. It was their eighth win over an NAIA Top-15 team this year.

What Happened?: The match featured plenty of offense as Vanguard hit .423 while Benedictine Mesa countered at .386. Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) led the Lions in kills for the fourth straight match, finishing with 16 on .462 (16-4-26) hitting. Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) chipped in 13 kills while hitting .333 – and he has posted 10 or more kills in five of the last six matches.

Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) added seven kills and hit .500 (7-2-10). He also served up a match-high four aces.

Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA), who ranks second in the nation in assists per set (10.54) tallied 32 assists for a Lion offense which is fourth in the country in hitting percentage (.315).

Owing to the high level of offense in the match, the Lions collected a season-low 15 digs.

The Redhawks were led by 10 kills from Landon Fuller and nine from John Dawson.

Set 1

Vanguard led the entire set, but held on at the end for the 25-23 victory. Great passing and terminating were on display as both teams hit over .600.

The Lions held a three-point lead for an extended period and was up 13-10 following a Meoni kill. But VU utilized a 6-3 run to create a 19-13 cushion on an Anema kill.

The Redhawks stormed back with five straight points to pull within 19-18 as the Lions had a brief lull offensively. Anema ended the run with a kill to push the lead back to two. The teams traded points until the Redhawks closed to 24-23 on a kill by Fuller.

But a Benedictine service error gave the Lions set point.

Set 2

Another close set included 11 ties as both squads were evenly matched.

Benedictine Mesa had a 9-6 lead but an attack error and back-to-back kills from Anema and Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) deadlocked the score at 9-9.

The teams remained tied at 20-20 as Anema put another ball down. A Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA) solo block on Fuller gave VU a 21-20 lead but Stearman answered with a kill to tie it.

At 23-23, VU scored the final two points as Meoni delivered a kill and a service ace.

Set 3

The two teams went back and fourth as set two featured 17 ties. Neither team trailed by more than two points until Vanguard utilized a late push.

Benedictine Mesa built a 13-11 lead following an ace from Daxton Tolman, but the Lions evened the score at 13-13 on Anema's kill.

VU used a double block by Cody Watts (JR/Clovis, CA) and Thompson to take a 20-19 lead, but Fuller responded with a kill to tie the score again.

The Redhawks led 22-21 on a Caleb Stearman kill, but the Lions took the last four points to wrestle the set away. Roussin had two key kills during the set-clinching 4-0 run.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions earned a top notch win against a Benedictine Mesa team that had won 13 straight matches.

What's Next?: Vanguard is playing for the right to host the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. The Lions are tied with OUAZ at 8-1 in the conference standings. If the two teams are tied in the final regular season standings, Vanguard becomes the No. 1 seed based on tiebreakers. The Lions have a tough matchup at No. 5 Menlo on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.