GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Vanguard men's volleyball team rode a balanced attack to a straight sets victory at Arizona Christian on Friday, taking the match 25-21, 25-22, 25-21.

The Lions moved to 9-3 on the year and 4-0 in Golden State Athletic Conference play. They have not dropped a set in any of their four conference wins.

What Happened?: Five Lions accrued six or more kills, including a team-high 11 from outside hitter Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA). Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) and Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA) contributed nine kills apiece with the latter hitting .538 (9-2-13) overall.

Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) swung at a .500 clip on his way to eight kills, while Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) had six.

Vanguard hit .376 as a team with setter Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) distributing 36 assists. Roussin was effective at the service line, producing four aces.

Chris Beck led Arizona Christian with 14 kills on .462 hitting.

Set 1

Linden notched the first three kills of the match as Vanguard had an early 4-3 lead. Neither team held a lead greater than two points until the very end of the set. In fact, there were 18 ties in the first set alone.

The Firestorm grabbed a 6-5 lead on Paul Dozeman's kill. Vanguard retook the lead at 8-7 on a double block from Linden and Anema.

ACU caught the Lions and yanked the lead back at 17-16, capitalizing on a VU attack error. Vanguard regained the edge again at 18-17 as Linden put down his fifth kill of the set.

The lead went back to ACU as another VU miscue gave the Firestorm a 19-18 advantage. But two ACU errors handed the lead back to VU at 20-19.

ACU led for the last time at 21-20 when VU sped away with a set-clinching 5-0 run. Meoni and Nowtash came up big with two kills apiece during the run.

VU hit .458 in set one while ACU was efficient as well at .358.

Set 2

The Lions pushed out to a 6-1 lead behind the serving of Roussin. The outside hitter accounted for three of those points on aces.

However, ACU used a 7-1 run to take an 8-7 lead. The Firestorm produced three aces themselves during the burst, two by Cade McGee.

Play resembled set one from that point on, as the teams combined for nine ties. Anema produced four kills for the Lions, while the Firestorm got kills from five different players when the teams were tied for the last time at 17-17.

VU went on a critical 5-1 run, getting consecutive kills from Linden and another from Anema to open up a 22-18 lead.

The Firestorm fought off a pair of set points to trim the VU lead to 24-22, but Beck's service error gave the Lions the 25-22 win.

Vanguard stayed red hot hitting .406 in the frame while ACU posted a .300 mark.

Set 3

The two teams stayed close until the midway point of the set. Wesley Hunter pounded a kill for the Firestorm to tie the score at 7-7.

But the Lions utilized a 5-1 run to open up a four-point lead at 12-8. Thompson had a key solo block on McGee, and dished out assists to Anema and Roussin during the run.

The Lions led by as many as five points at 21-16, but the Firestorm scored three straight to creep within 21-19.

However, VU responded with three in a row as well to set up match point at 24-19. ACU got to within 24-21, but Roussin finished off the match with a kill.

Why Is It Important?: VU had played seven of its eight previous matches at home, giving the Lions an important road win in the formidable GSAC.

What Was Said?: "The trip has been great for us as a team," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter. "It's always great to get to experience playing in different environments and taking on the challenge of going on the road and continuing to play good volleyball. We were able to do that tonight and will strive to be a little better tomorrow."

What's Next?: The Arizona swing continues on Saturday as the Lions battle No. 6 OUAZ at Faith Arena. First serve is at noon (PST).