COSTA MESA – The Vanguard men's volleyball team team hit .395 in a commanding 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 victory over UC Merced on Saturday evening at Calvary Chapel High School.

Will Anderson (JR/Tualatin, OR) posted a match-high 11 kills on .476 hitting. He has led or tied for the team lead in kills in all four matches this season.

Tanner Woods (JR/Portland, OR) followed with nine kills, hitting .300 (9-3-20). Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) posted eight kills with match-highs in digs (9) and service aces (5). Cody Watts (SR/Clovis, CA) hit a whopping .889 with eight kills and no errors in nine attempts.

Setter Ryan Smith (SR/Parker, CO) directed the offense with 32 assists and added a pair of block assists.

The Lions outhit the Bobcats .395 to .107 and won the blocks battle 6.5-2.0.

UC Merced got five kills each from Chris Morikawa and Ryan Kilgore.

The Lions are now 3-1 on the season, while the Bobcats dropped to 1-4.

What Happened?:

Set 1: The Bobcats scored the first point on a Kilgore kill, then the Lions dominated the rest of the way. VU scored the next seven points – four on Anema aces – to take a 7-1 lead.

Watts extended the lead to 13-5 with a kill. The Lions maintained the eight-point advantage at 18-10 on an Anderson putaway. VU applied more pressure, going on a 4-0 run to expand the lead to 23-12 after a pair of Bobcat attack errors and a Woods kill.

The Lions won the first set 25-14 on a Bobcat service error.

VU hit .423 (13-2-26) to UC Merced's .034 (7-6-29).

Set 2: The second set started back-and-forth as the score was tied 4-4. The Lions opened up a 9-5 advantage as a 5-1 run was aided by three Bobcat errors.

The Lions created another sizable eight-point lead, as Anema had a kill and ace during a 4-0 burst. Trailing 15-7, the Bobcats scored three of the next four points to claw back within 16-10.

But the Lions stomped out any thoughts of a comeback, reeling off five straight points including a pair from Smith. The Lions got to set point at 24-11 and saw the Bobcats post a 5-0 run of their own, as Jozef Lingenfelter's ace made it 24-16.

However, Lingenfelter served into the net to give the Lions the 25-16 win.

VU held the Bobcats to .000 (5-5-22) hitting while producing a .300 (13-4-30) line.

Set 3: The Bobcats played their most competitive set in the third, taking a one-point lead several times in the early going. Leading 6-5, the Bobcats committed a service error to create a 6-6 tie.

A UC Merced attack error and Anema kill made it 8-6 Lions, and the Bobcats trailed from there. They stayed within two at 12-10, but the Lions quickly squashed any comeback attempt with a 7-1 run to lead 19-11.

Watts started the run with a pair of kills and Anema had two as well.

The Bobcats scored three in a row to pull within 19-15 – and trailed by four on five more occasions as the two teams traded side outs.

At 24-20, Watts pounded his eighth kill to end the match.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions kept their momentum after a program first on Wednesday when they defeated an NCAA Division I opponent for the first time.

What Was Said?: "What is most important about tonight's match was that our team went out and played our level of Vanguard Lion volleyball," said Head Coach Brian Rofer. "There was no let up after defeating CSUN the other night. Our guys came out focused and just played real good volleyball. I'm impressed at their maturity and consistency in improving. Respect for the game, opponent, the hours of practice and the privilege of representing Vanguard and all the fans – that's what our guys showed tonight. They put a real good product out there that was fun to be a part of."

What's Next?: The Lions continue their four-match homestand against Westcliff on Tuesday, Feb. 7. First serve from Orange Coast College is 8:00 p.m.