SURPRISE, Ariz. – The top-seeded Vanguard men's volleyball team lost in four sets to No. 2 seed The Master's in the championship match of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Set scores were 29-27, 18-25, 25-19, 25-19. The Lions lost to the Mustangs in the GSAC Tournament for the second straight season.
Vanguard could not convert any of five set point opportunities in the first frame to fall into an early 1-0 hole, marking the third time in its last four matches the the Lions dropped the first set.
The Mustangs had the edge in kills (61-50), hitting percentage (.355-.298), assists (56-46) and total blocks (8.0-6.0). The Lions won the battle in service aces (6-5) and both teams had 39 digs.
VU could not contend with GSAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Nolan Flexen, who tallied a match-high 28 kills on .447 hitting. The TMU outside hitter added three aces and four digs in a dominating performance.
Kyle Anema did his part to keep the Lions in the match. He posted a team-high 18 kills while hitting .412 (18-4-34). The four-time All-GSAC standout added three aces and six digs.
Will Anderson chipped in 11 kills and Tanner Woods had nine.
Ryan Smith dished out 41 assists. Ryan Jew was one of five Lions with six digs.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The Lions got off to an inauspicious start as the Mustangs fired out to a 7-1 lead. Flexen had two early kills and two aces to help the Mustangs extend the lead to 11-4.
TMU scored three straight points to maintain a sizable edge at 17-11, but the Lions responded with three in a row of their own to cut the deficit in half.
Trailing 19-16, the Lions began to make their push, utilizing a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the set. Anderson and Cody Watts teamed up to stuff Flexen to tie the score at 19-19 and force a TMU timeout. Anderson slammed a ball down to give VU the 20-19 lead out of the break.
TMU tied the score on a Braden Van Groningen kill – one of seven ties down the stretch.
The Lions created their first set point opportunity when Smith's kill gave them a 24-22 lead. However, a VU service error and Flexen kill quickly knotted the score at 24-all.
Anema had kills on three straight swings to give the Lions set point at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26. But each time the Mustangs wiggled away, with Flexen responding twice with kills along with a VU service error.
At 27-27, TMU took the next two points on Flexen's third ace and a Van Groningen kill. TMU hit .267 (13-5-30) in the set, while VU lost despite hitting better at .310 (14-5-29).
Set 2 – The Lions didn't seem too bothered by the deficit and quickly went to work, building a 5-1 lead on the strength of Anema's serving.
The Lions expanded their lead to 11-5 on an Anderson kill to force a TMU timeout. A kill by Trent Norkus got the Mustangs within five out of the break, but the Lions used a 4-0 spurt to build a 15-6 lead. Anema had three kills during that stretch.
The Mustangs answered with four straight points to trim their deficit to 15-10, but that was as close as they would get. Tanner Woods had a pair of kills to extend the VU lead back to seven at 20-13
Anema and Woods had back-to-back slams as VU took the second set 25-18. The Lions hit .364 (16-4-33) and held the Mustangs to .226 (12-5-31) efficiency.
Set 3 – The Lions appeared to have momentum and seized control with an early 6-3 lead behind two kills from Woods, an Anderson ace and a Watts putaway.
VU remained ahead by three at 9-6 when the Mustangs punched back with five straight points. Flexen pounded three kills during the run as TMU took the 11-9 advantage.
The Lions hit back with a 3-0 run, earning their final lead at 12-11 on a double block by Valesis Vaisuai and Woods.
The two teams were deadlocked four times from there, the last time at 15-15 on another Woods kill.
But the match turned as TMU went on a 5-1 run to establish a 20-16 lead. Three TMU kills and a pair of VU attack errors put the Lions in a deficit. Anema pulled the Lions closer with a kill at 21-18, but the Mustangs finished with four of the last five points, getting a kill from Isaac Seltzer to punctuate the 25-19 victory.
TMU hit a torrid .571 (18-2-28) in the set. The Lions did not play poorly, coming in at a .318 (10-4-22) clip, but it was not enough as they had no answers defensively for Flexen, who had eight kills in the set.
Set 4 – The Lions led just once in a tightly contested battle until late in the final set. VU took a 1-0 lead on Anema's kill, but the Mustangs roared back behind two Flexen slams and another from Will Avera.
Leading 3-1, the Mustangs could not shake the Lions as VU kept the match within at least two until midway through the set. However, the Lions weren't scoring any points as they typically do with their block.
The Lions got within 14-13 on a TMU service error, but could not climb over the hump.
TMU crushed VU's hopes with a crucial 5-1 run. Flexen slammed three straight kills and a combo block from Avera and Seltzer created cushion at 18-14 as VU called timeout. Avera landed another kill to extend the lead to five. Anderson responded for VU to make the score 19-15, but Flexen found the court again to put TMU back up by five.
Making one last push, the Lions crept within 22-19 as Woods rejected Seltzer, followed by a Van Groningen attack error.
But the Mustangs slammed the door shut with the final three points, getting a kill from Van Groningen to seal match point and the 25-19 victory. The Lions managed to hit just .200 (10-4-30), while the Mustangs swung at .371 (18-5-35) efficiency. Flexen had seven more kills to lead TMU offensively.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions would just as soon never play in Arizona or a team from Arizona again this season. Three of their five losses have come to teams from Arizona – Benedictine Mesa twice and Arizona Christian once. A fourth loss came on OUAZ's floor to TMU.
What's Next?: TMU earned the automatic bid to the 12-team NAIA Championship, which will be played April 11-15 at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in Des Moines, Iowa. Vanguard is expected to receive an at-large bid into the field. The NAIA Selection Show will take place on Monday at 2:00 p.m. (PT) on the NAIA YouTube Channel.
