COSTA MESA – Vanguard men's volleyball faced the eighth-ranked Statesmen of William Penn on Tuesday night for the first time since the two met in Des Moines at the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Tournament.  The Lions retained their honor in a four-set victory last April but were more clinical on Tuesday to make it three sweeps in a row, as the NAIA top-ranked Lions won 25-21, 25-19, 25-23.  VU hit at a .432 rate in the match and Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) paced both squads with 13 kills and seven digs.  The Lions are now 12-3 overall and WPU falls to 15-7.

What Happened? Anema slammed down the first kill of the night but the Statesmen were ready to scrap, as the teams would remain in relative lockstep until the match was tied at 10-10.  A WPU attack error gave the ball to Glen Linden III (JR/Newport Beach, CA) and he helped the Lions make a 4-0 run from behind the service line, as Linden snuck in one ace and Tanner Woods (JR/Portland, OR) put down two kills.  William Penn cut the gap to 14-12 but a kill from Will Anderson (JR/Tualatin, OR) would be the turning point in the opening set.  VU would get two more kills from Anderson as part of a 6-0 stretch that took the advantage to 20-12.  The Statesmen burned both timeouts and responded by picking up nine points over the next few rallies, forcing the Lions to take a timeout ahead 23-21.  The call worked to perfection, as Anderson clocked another kill and Anema snagged another ace to give VU set one 25-21.  WPU hit .250 in the first and the Blue and Gold hit at a .345 mark, with 16 kills and six errors.

The second set was a near-perfect frame for VU offensively, as the squad hit .750, with nine kills and no errors on 12 attempts.  WPU posted a respectable .300 in the second, with 12 kills and six errors, but the guests could not keep up in the middle period.  Anderson picked up the first kill of the set and Anema then threw down another ace to extend the early lead to 3-1.  The positive momentum continued to expand, as the Lions would flare the advantage out to 17-9.  As in the first frame, the Statesmen were able to saunter back into contention, as a 9-4 stretch brought the lead down to 21-18, with the Lions calling a timeout.  Similar to the first period, the Lions came out of the reset and reasserted themselves, picking up three points in four rallies to go up 24-18.  A service error would then put set two in Vanguard's hands 25-19.

The final set showcased what a matchup of two top 10 NAIA teams should look like.  The teams exchanged points over the first few rallies, with a kill from Anema knotting the score at 6-6.  The Lions were able to construct an 11-9 lead but the Statesmen would slice it down to level pegging at 14-all.  WPU soon trucked ahead by two and held a 19-17 edge before strikes from Anema and Anderson put down kills to tie the score at 19-19.  A big throwdown by Valesis Vaisuai (JR/Hayward, CA) sent VU ahead and the Lions would not trail again.  WPU tied the score at 23-23 but a service error gave the ball back to the Blue and Gold.  Anema blasted down the final kill of the match to secure set three 25-23 for the Lions, as Vanguard completed the sweep of the Statesmen.  VU hit .394 in the third, with 18 kills and five errors.  The Statesmen had 14 kills and three errors for a .367 hitting percentage.

The Lions had 18 digs as a team and 42 assists to go along with 14 block assists and six aces.  Ryan Smith (SR/Parker, CO) had 39 assists and Vaisuai led the Lions with five block assists.  Anema hit .611 in the match, notching only two errors on his 18 attempts.  Ryan Jew (SR/Roseville, CA) was second on the team with five digs. 

Why is it Important?  Now ahead 2-0 in the all-time series, the Lions have won five straight and eight in a row over NAIA schools. 

What was Said?  "Redundancy is good when your setter has his team hitting over .400 again," said Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "Our serving was very good, especially in the first two sets, and we had a good night blocking.  Tanner continues to get better and Kyle hit an almost unheard of .611 in the match with two aces and a match-high seven digs.  All of our guys were great tonight, from the players on the court to their teammates supporting them."

What's Next?  The reigning NAIA champions, the Grand View Vikings, will be in town tomorrow night, as GV will take on VU at 7:00 p.m. at Calvary Chapel High School.