SANTA ANA, Calif. – Vanguard faced a bit of adversity in Wednesday's nonconference men's volleyball match with No. 10 Grand View, but restored order quickly in a four-set victory at Calvary Chapel High School.

The top-ranked Lions won their sixth straight match to improve to 13-3 overall, while the Vikings fell to 16-6.

Dropping the first set for only the third time all season, the Lions worked the Vikings into submission with solid all-around serving and blocking over the next three frames.

VU earned more aces (12-7) and blocks (14.5-4.0), withstanding a match-high 26 kills from Grand View junior outside hitter Bayron Valdez. Valdez hit .341 (26-11-44), but the Lions adjusted to him as the match wore on, and limited him to .222 (5-3-9) hitting in the decisive fourth set.

Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) and Will Anderson (JR/Tualatin, OR) provided the one-two punch for the Lions, finishing with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Anema hit an otherworldly .609 (16-2-23), coming off a .611 (13-2-18) performance against William Penn on Tuesday. The All-American added five aces, a team-high eight digs and four block assists.

Anderson posted a stat line of 13 kills, five digs and three blocks while hitting .292 (13-6-24).

Valesis Vaisuai (JR/Hayward, CA) led the charge at the net with seven block assists in addition to his five kills on .364 (5-1-11) attacking efficiency.

Ryan Smith (SR/Parker, CO) directed the offense to .392 hitting – the sixth straight match the Lions have hit well above .300. The 6-9 setter also was a menace at the net with a season-best seven blocks.

Serving specialist Glen Linden III (JR/Newport Beach, CA) tallied a career-high five aces, and helped set the tone in the second set with three straight that cratered Grand View's hopes.

What Happened?

Set 1 – Vanguard charged out to an 8-3 lead behind two kills from Anderson, a Linden ace and two blocks.

However, Grand View battled back with a 9-2 run to take a 12-10 lead as the Lions had three attack errors and two more at the service line to help the Vikings surge ahead.

The Lions remained down by two, 16-14, when the Vikings scored four straight points off the serve of Daniel Galili. VU tried to climb back with three straight points, cutting the deficit to 22-19 on a Vaisuai-Anderson block of Valdez.

But Valdez ended the set with a kill and an ace as Grand View took the 25-20 victory. Grand View hit .263 (10-5-19), while Vanguard swung at a .286 (10-4-21) clip.

Set 2 – Vanguard worked another big lead to begin the set, and refused to allow Grand View to come back this time.

The Lions stormed out to an 8-2 lead, completing a 4-0 run with three straight Linden aces that resulted in a Viking timeout. The timeout did nothing to change the momentum as Watts and Smith stuffed Nicolas Vattier, followed by a Smith kill as VU led 11-3.

The Vikings trailed by no fewer than six points the rest of the way. Leading 14-8, VU extended the gap to nine following a Grand View service error and two straight Anema aces.

Smith earned a solo block on Zeo Meyer to create VU's first double-digit advantage at 21-11, and combined forces with Vaisuai to reject Valdez for a 23-12 lead.

Anema slammed one down to close out the 25-13 win in set two.

Set 3 – Anderson and Anema combined for nine kills to offset a 10-kill performance by Valdez in set three. Despite all of Valdez's numbers, the Lions limited Grand View to one mini-run in the entire set and pulled away late.

The two teams were tied 6-6 when Vanguard embarked on a 7-2 run. Anderson, Anema and Vaisuai combined for four kills as the VU surge opened up a 13-8 lead. The Lions slowly widened the lead to 20-13, but Valdez had three kills during a 4-0 Viking run, closing the gap to three and forcing a VU timeout.

Out of the break, the Lions responded to a pair of Valdez kills with putaways from Anderson and Tanner Woods (JR/Portland, OR) to maintain a 23-19 advantage. The Vikings inched closer to 23-21, but Anderson and Anema shut the door with kills as the Lions took the 25-22 victory.

Set 4 – The Lions exerted control early behind a pair of Anema aces and a kill as VU led 4-1.

VU's block turned away the Vikings five times in the set. Watts and Woods stuffed Valdez once, while Vaisuai and Anema rejected Galili twice in the early going, resulting in a 10-6 VU lead.

Three straight Lion miscues enabled the Vikings to creep within two at 16-14, but VU erased that with three straight points of its own – an Anema kill, Watts ace and a Vaisuai-Smith combo block on Valdez.

With a 19-14 advantage, the Lions played sideout the rest of the way. Fittingly, VU threw a triple block of Smith, Watts and Anema at Valdez for the match-clinching point and the 25-20 triumph.

Why Is it Important?: The Lions played their ninth match against a top-10 opponent and are 7-2 in those contests. The Lions padded their postseason résumé with two big wins against out-of-region opponents in William Penn and Grand View.

What Was Said?: "Grand View came out the first set showing us what they are capable of doing from the service line," said Head Coach Brian Rofer. "Their ace statistic is not indicative of how well they were serving. I'm happy the way our team kept competing. Unfortunately, we just could not overcome a couple of the service runs.

"Most importantly though is how our guys refocused and came out the next three sets. Grand View has a very good hitter, but at the end of the match, he wasn't quite as good as Kyle Anema, our outside hitter. Again, overall, we hit very well as a team. Our defense is getting better. We are digging more and now we just need to improve in transitioning those digs to points. Effort and focus are there consistently which is a sign of maturity.

"This is a very good Volleyball team. We have one day of travel and play again back-to-back against two good Arizona teams. I know our guys will respond in a positive way. It's not going to be easy but I have so much confidence in this team. I look forward to this trip."

What's Next?: The Lions begin their journey in the Grand Canyon state on Friday against No. 4 OUAZ. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.