WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Vanguard men's volleyball team knew there would be no Golden State Athletic Conference teams going to the semifinal round at the 2022 NAIA National Tournament, as the team watched OUAZ get upset before they took the court.  But the Lions avenged the opening game loss to Campbellsville by beating William Penn in four sets 26-24 (WPU), 25-18, 25-18, and 25-17.  Vanguard will end the year on a positive note and a record of 17-7, while WPU will finish 23-9 overall.

What Happened?  Set 1: The Lions would get the first point off an attack error and then grabbed the next six of seven points to jump ahead 7-1 with kills from Cody Watts (JR/Clovis, CA) and Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA).  The Statesmen called a timeout and picked up a few points out of the gate to cut the lead in half to 8-4 but a kill from Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) and some mistakes by WPU put Vanguard ahead 11-4.  William Penn would come back some as the first set moved along, with the squads exchanging some service aces and errors, but VU remained ahead 16-12.

The Statesmen would not go away easily in the first though, as a late 3-0 run closed down the gap to 22-20 in favor of Vanguard.  WPU got the next point out a timeout and each team got one more.  A timely slam from Roussin put the Lions on the brink of winning set one 24-23 but William Penn flipped the script with two-straight points to hold the advantage.  Vanguard called its final timeout but an ace gave the Statesmen set one 26-24.  VU hit .346 (14 K 5 E) in the period while WPU hit .318 (12 K 5 E).

Set 2:  The second set was back and forth from the start, with William Penn claiming the first point.  Roussin got a kill to make it 1-1 and both teams walked the score up from there.  VU had a slim lead a couple of times but the Statesmen would come back, with the game eventually tied at nine-all.  Roussin then destroyed two balls in a row to put the Blue and Gold ahead 11-9.  With WPU making some errors, a kill and two aces from Watts increased the lead to 15-11.

William Penn made some more mistakes, pushing VU to 20 points in short order.  Sensing a quick end to the set, Anema threw down two kills and an ace to put the Lions ahead 23-16.  The Statesmen then made two points in a row but another Anema kill and an attack error from WPU gave the Lions the second frame 25-18.  The Lions hit .310 (13 K 4 E) and the Statesmen hit .259 (12 K 5 E).

Set 3:  Vanguard grabbed the first two points of the second before the Statesmen got their first kill.  From there though, WPU had the better of the play, working out a 10-5 lead.  But Watts had a kill and a block and a big bash by Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) brought the deficit down to 13-10.  An ace from Roussin, followed by an attack error, made it a one-point gap at 13-12, forcing William Penn to call a timeout.  Anema nailed a kill shot from the back row out of the pause and while the Statesmen got a couple of points, VU pulled away.  Anema and Watts threw down kills and an ace from #9 made William Penn call a timeout, with the Blue and Gold leading 20-17. 

The Statesmen got one more point in the period but the Lions nailed the next five points to take set three 25-18, with the final tally coming on a net violation by WPU.  Vanguard hit .241 (13 K 6E) while WPU hit .036 (8 K 7 E).

Set 4:  The Lions picked up right where they left off in the third, running off a 6-1 run to start the set.  Kills from Roussin and Watts, combined with some errors by the Statesmen allowed the hot start for Vanguard in the frame.  That was then followed by an ace from Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA), pushing the score to 7-1.  William Penn called a timeout and was able to come back some, closing the distance between the two teams to four points.  However, Vanguard continued to attack, with Roussin and Anema getting kills to push the score to 15-10.

The Blue and Gold remained dominant for the remainder of the fourth, as they ran off into the sunset.  Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) and Anema got the final few kills as Vanguard took set four 25-17.  VU hit a blistering .455 (14 K 4 E) in the fourth, while William Penn hit .087 (8 K 6 E).

For the day, the Lions hit .330, with 54 kills and 19 errors.  WPU hit .170, with 40 kills and 23 errors.  The Lions had an edge in assists (53-40), aces (8-5), and digs (32-26).  Each team ended up with six total blocks. 

Anema led the team with 19 kills, hitting .324 for the match and tallying six digs.  Roussin had a beastly night, with 17 kills and four errors for a .448 attack percentage.  Watts had nine kills and two errors and tied Thompson with three total blocks.  Thompson had 46 assists on the night and seven digs.  Cameron Way (SR/Dana Point, CA) led the squad with nine digs.

What was Said?  "This final match of our season showed our competitive toughness," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter.  "It also showed we have guys that love to play volleyball.  I am so proud of the season and the accomplishments from this season."