SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Vanguard men's volleyball had certainly not enjoyed being upset a week ago at home but got the chance to play the roles themselves Friday night.  Traveling to The Master's, the #5 Lions took on the #1 Mustangs and VU shocked the building by sweeping TMU 3-0.  Vanguard fired away at a .434 hitting percentage on the night, holding The Master's to a .233 mark en route to the 25-21, 25-17, and 25-21 victory.  The Lions go to 6-2 overall and are now 2-0 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.  The Mustangs drop to 5-2 overall and are now 0-1 in the GSAC.

What Happened?  VU started to pull out a lead over the first few rallies of the game, as kills by Will Anderson (JR/Tualatin, OR), Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA), and Valesis Vaisuai (JR/Hayward, CA) put the squad up 4-1.  TMU sinched in from there and remained down by only one until the hosts tied the game at 10-all.  A powerful kill by Vaisuai and an ace by Anema re-established a 12-10 advantage for the Blue and Gold, but The Master's would tie the score two more times over the middle stages of the period.  Knotted at 14-14, Tanner Woods (JR/Portland, OR) pounded down a kill and the Lions inched out from there.  Vanguard made a 3-0 run and soon led 21-17 on a kill by Anema.  Anderson and a couple of Mustang errors put the Lions up 24-20, with one last kill from Anema handing VU the set 25-21.  The Lions had 15 kills and two errors for a .481 attack percentage, a game-high for both sides.  TMU was not far behind with 14 kills and two errors for a .480 rate.

But that efficiency for the home side plummeted from there, as the Vanguard defense stonewalled the Mustangs in the second set.  Tied at 9-all, Ryan Smith (SR/Parker, CO) tapped down a kill and Cody Watts (SR/Clovis, CA) slid in an ace to put the Lions up 11-9.  VU then put up three points in a row on a kill by Vaisuai and two errors by the Mustangs, as the advantage for the Blue and Gold grew to 15-11.  A 5-2 run for the Lions ensued from there, as the squad claimed a 20-13 edge in the set.  TMU put up a few late points but the Blue and Gold secured the second frame 25-17 to put the pressure all on the home side to respond in the third.  Vanguard hit .450 in the period, with 12 kills and three errors.  TMU hit -0.043, with six kills and seven errors.

The third set saw the Mustangs take the early lead but the Lions did not go down by more than one point.  Tied at 3-3, kills from Anderson and Woods put VU up 5-3 and the team carried mail from there, going on a 5-2 streak to up the advantage to 10-5.  The hosts responded with five-straight points to tie things at 10-10 but the pendulum then swung back the other way.  Vanguard pieced together a 7-3 run to stake a 17-13 lead,  with Anderson and Anema collecting kills.  The Mustangs got within two points but did not get any closer, with back-to-back kills by Anderson pushing Vanguard over the line with a 25-21 set win.  VU hit .379 in the third, with 15 kills and four errors, while TMU hit .240.

Vanguard led all the main stat categories, including a 23-17 edge in digs and a 9-6 lead in blocks.  It was a big night for Anderson, who had 20 kills to pace the entire field.  He had only three errors for a .630 attack percentage for the night while also leading VU with eight digs, another game-high.  Anema had 11 kills and only three errors.  Smith had 36 assists and Vaisuai had three block assists to pace the squad.

Why is it Important? Vanguard continues to own the all-time matchup, going to 5-1 against the Mustangs.  The Lions have played NAIA #2 teams a fair amount but this was the first matchup against the #1 team in the NAIA.  Vanguard is currently 4-2 against teams ranked #2 in the NAIA nation.

What was Said?  "My staff again developed a great game plan for tonight and our team executed that plan," said Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "It's going to be hard to beat us when Will and Kyle play at the level they played and I have all the confidence in them.  Val was an intimidating factor at the net and Ryan did a very good job running our offense.  I think the biggest factor in our success tonight was the play of our libero, Ryan Jew.  It's been a battle at that position and he keeps improving and separating himself from the competition.  The goal for us is to keep improving and our guys realize that."

What's Next? With the GSAC holding four ranked NAIA teams, the schedule will not get any easier.  VU will head north next week for a match against #6 Menlo on Friday, February 24, at 12:30 p.m.