MESA, Ariz. – Will Anderson (JR/Tualatin, OR) and Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) were the offensive stars in Saturday's four-set men's volleyball showdown at No. 2 Benedictine Mesa, collecting 37 of the team's 51 kills in the 25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 25-23 victory.

Anderson tallied 21 kills on .405 efficiency, while Anema hit .444 and added 16 kills. The Lions swung at a .316 clip as a team.

Ryan Smith (SR/Parker, CO) handed out 40 assists to direct the Lion offense.

The Lions won the battle at the service line with an 8-1 edge in aces. The Redhawks had 19 service errors to offset .378 hitting as a team.

Landon Fuller led Benedictine with 13 kills. Dapre Rogers and Simon Joly had 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

The fourth-ranked Lions avenged Friday's loss in four sets to the same Redhawks outfit. Both teams are now 1-1 on the season.

What Happened?

Set 1

The Lions hit a sizzling .550 (14-3-20) in the first set to better Benedictine's .438 (10-3-16) showing.

Vanguard led from start to finish. Anderson posted back-to-back kills to give the Lions an 11-9 lead. Rogers countered with a kill to tie the score at 12-12.

The Lions were sharp at the service line as three of their next five points came on aces. Cody Watts (SR/Clovis, CA) served up back-to-back aces to complete a 5-1 VU run for a 17-13 lead.

The Redhawks crept back to within two points on four occasions, the last at 21-19 on a Lion service error. But the Lions closed the set with a 4-1 run, getting a kill from Anderson and an attack error from Benedictine's Joly to earn the 25-20 win.

Set 2

The Lions hit a solid .296 and held the Redhawks to their lowest output in the match as Benedictine hit just .231 (13-7-26).

VU stormed out to a 6-1 lead on a combined stuff from Watts and Tanner Woods (JR/Portland, OR). The Redhawks scored nine of the next 13 points to forge a 10-10 tie and things stayed tight for the remainder of the set.

Benedictine led 16-15 and 17-16, but Anema and Anderson threw down kills to tie the score on both occasions. The Lions used a 4-0 run to take a 20-17 lead as three Redhawk attack errors helped the cause.

A Redhawk timeout calmed the VU momentum as Benedictine fired back with a 4-0 run of its own. Three straight VU attack errors and a kill from Daxton Tolman gave the Redhawks the 21-20 advantage.

Watts posted a kill to get the Lions to set point at 24-23, but Benedictine flipped the script and took a 25-24 lead on a Rogers kill and John Dawson ace. Dawson's service error leveled the score at 25-25, but Tyler Watts created set point number two for the Redhawks with a kill.

Trailing 26-25, the Lions called timeout and the stoppage worked wonders. Anema slammed back-to-back kills to put VU back up 27-26, and a Rogers error gave the Lions the 28-26 victory.

Set 3

Benedictine controlled the third set with .591 hitting, getting 15 kills in 22 attempts with just two errors. The Lions struggled and hit just .130 overall.

The Redhawks sprinted out to a 6-2 lead and maintained a four-point advantage for a majority of the frame. They opened up a 21-15 lead following a Rogers kill. Trailing 24-18, Vanguard got within four but Rogers sealed the 25-20 win with a kill.

Set 4

The Lions never trailed in set four but held off the Redhawks at the end to earn the hard fought victory.

There were six ties in the frame. At 6-6, the Lions scored three straight points and eventually went on a 6-2 run to take a 12-8 lead.

The Lions remained in front by four, 14-10, but the Redhawks chipped away and tied the score at 17-17 on a double block by Dawson and Josh Beymer.

The score remained tied at 19-19, but the Lions reeled off three straight points, the last on a Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) ace for the 22-19 lead.

Benedictine nipped at VU's heels and trimmed the deficit to one on three separate occasions, moving within 24-23 on a Joly kill.

But Anderson notched his 21st kill on match point to send VU to victory.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions salvaged a split against the No. 2 team in the country. The two teams will play for a third time on Feb. 10 at Orange Coast College. It also marked the first win for VU first-year head coach Brian Rofer.

What Was Said?: "It is always nice to get a win especially on the road," said Rofer. "We watched video of our first match this morning mainly looking at what we did right and what we needed to improve on. This team showed a lot of maturity in being able to make some improvements and adjustments very quickly, implementing them during today's win. We're definitely going in the right direction."

What's Next?: The Lions continue their three-match season-opening roadtrip against NCAA Division I foe CSUN. The Lions and Matadors play on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:00 p.m. inside the Matadome.