MESA, Ariz. – Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) and Will Anderson (JR/Tualatin, OR) tallied 13 kills each, but No. 2 Benedictine Mesa hit .382 for the match in a four-set win over Vanguard in Friday's men's volleyball season opener.

Set scores went 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20 in favor of the Redhawks, which had four players register double-digit kills, led by 16 from Landon Fuller.

The fourth-ranked Lions hit a solid .320 (50-17-103) for the match with Anema leading the way at a .357 (13-3-28) clip. Anderson hit .300 (13-4-30) and added a match-high tying eight digs.

Tanner Woods (JR/Portland, OR) chipped in nine kills in his Blue and Gold debut and Valesis Vaisuai (JR/Hayward, CA) had a career-high eight on .636 hitting.

Ryan Smith (SR/Parker, CO) also made his VU debut – and the setter dished out 40 assists to go along with seven digs and an ace.

What Happened?:

Set 1

The Lions chased the Redhawks all set but never led in a closely contested battle. Anema's kill tied the score at 10-10 before the Redhawks responded with three straight points to take a 13-10 lead.

VU remained down by three at 20-17 before three straight Redhawk errors brought the score level again. Cody Watts (SR/Clovis, CA) pounded a kill to tie the score once more at 21-21.

But Benedictine scored the final four points, with John Dawson's service ace sealing the 25-21 set one victory.

Set 2

Vanguard fell into an early 6-2 hole but quickly battled back with a 5-2 run to close the gap to 8-7. Woods served up an ace to keep VU within one at 17-16.

The Redhawks scored consecutive points to take a 21-18 lead, but the Lions answered with four of the next five to tie the set at 22-22.

However, the Lions could not get over the hump and fell victim to a late Redhawk run to close out the set. Benedictine notched the final three points, the last two on Lion errors, taking the 25-22 win.

Set 3

The Lions earned their first lead of the match as Anema opened the frame with a kill.

Anderson slammed a kill to open up a 9-5 lead and force a Redhawk timeout. Benedictine emerged from the break with three straight points to pull within 9-8.

Back-to-back putaways by Vaisuai boosted VU's lead back to three at 13-10. Leading 14-12, the Lions created some cushion with a 5-1 run. Anderson's kill made it 19-13 as the Redhawks burned their final timeout.

The Lions maintained solid distance the rest of the set with Vaisaui posting five kills. Woods accounted for the final point as the Lions took the 25-19 win.

Set 4

The teams battled through 12 ties with a Woods kill knotting the set at 12-12. The Redhawks went up by one point on a VU service error, and never allowed VU to lead again.

Landon Fuller's smash completed a 5-2 run and opened up a 17-14 lead. Dapre Rogers posted a kill as Benedictine led 19-15. However, the Lions scored four in a row to create the 13th tie in the set.

Benedictine came out of a timeout with renewed energy and fired back with a 4-0 run of its own. A pair of Fuller aces finished the run. Anema's kill brought VU within 23-20, but the Redhawks scored the final two points to take the 25-20 victory.

Why Is It Important?: It was the Vanguard head coaching debut of Brian Rofer.

What Was Said?: "Not winning is never easy," said Rofer. "Our process is simple – continue to improve and understand every competitive experience is an opportunity to learn. We want to be our best at the end of March into April, not now. If it was easy with no frustration, everyone would do it."

What's Next?: The Lions and Redhawks are back at it on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (PT).