Box Score WEST DES MOINES, Iowa.  -- Victory!  The Vanguard men's volleyball team exercised their shocking exit from the 2022 edition of the NAIA National Tournament by booking themselves a date with The Master's on Friday in the semifinals.  The Lions took part in a cracking good match against the Grand View Vikings on Thursday and VU emerged on top 3-1, winning 26-24, 23-25, 25-23, and 26-24.  Kyle Anema was a beast, pacing both teams with 21 kills and hitting .372 for the match.  He also had four assists, one ace, five digs, and four block assists, as the veteran #9 did it all this day for VU.  Will Anderson also had a great game, posting 17 kills, three aces, and six block assists.  The Lions win Pool B and force the exit of the Vikings, the champions of the last three tournaments,from the competition.  The Lions go to 18-5 overall and GV will end the year at 20-9.
 
 
What Happened?  The two sides tested each other in the first set and VU held the early edge.  Some errors from Grand View and a block from Anderson and Cody Watts had the Lions up 3-1.  Anderson's first kill two rallies later put Vanguard up 4-2 but Grand View swung things back the other way with a kill and an ace, taking its first lead at 5-4.  GV went up 8-6 but after that, the set would sway back and forth.  The Vikings took the next multi-point lead at 17-15 but a kill for Anderson and an ace from Anema leveled the match at 17-17.  While GV was the first side to 20 points, an ace for Tanner Woods put the Lions up 21-20.  The Vikings did not go away though and the match would be tied at 23-23 and 24-24.  But with the frame on the line, Anema rose up to pound down a kill, putting VU up 25-24.  During the next rally, Ryan Smith fed Anderson and his shot remained true, giving the Lions set one 26-24.  There were 20 ties in the first period, with VU hitting .250 and GV hitting .231.
The second set opened with a strike from Anderson but Grand View pocketed three-straight points to take a 3-1 lead.  Anderson put down another kill and then teamed up with Watts for a block to level the set at 4-4.  The Lions then hit a nice streak, with Anderson, Woods, and Smith throwing down kills to claim a 7-5 edge.  GV came back with their own 3-0 run to counter, putting the Vikings ahead 9-8 and kicking off a string of short runs for both sides.  A kill for the Vikings put GV up 16-14 but the Lions responded with one of the longer runs of the set, rattling off five unanswered points.  Anderson put down two aces and Woods collected a kill push the Lions ahead 19-16 during that stretch.  However, GV fired back with four points in a row to take a 20-19 advantage.  Anema tied the score with a kill and Andrew Sheveland slapped down an ace to put Vanguard ahead 21-20, but that would be the squad's last lead, as GV closed out the frame with five of the next seven points.  The Vikings took the second set 25-23 and hit .409, a match-high, with VU hitting .240.
With the Grand View crowd loud and engaged again, the Lions came out and took a hold of the third set early on.  Anderson, Anema, and Woods all had kills and some errors by GV helped VU race out to a 10-5 lead.  The advantage grew to six through the middle stages, with a block by Valesis Vaisuai and Anema putting the team up 20-14.  Despite the gap, VU then stalled out on 20 points, with GV climbing back with a 7-1 stretch to knot the period at 21-all.  Anema got the next two VU kills, including a booming shot from the back row to push the squad ahead 23-22.  A block from Watts and Anema put the team on the brink and despite a GV kill, the Vikings committed an attack error to hand VU the third frame 25-23.  The Lions hit .360 in the third and held GV to a -.091 rate.
The fourth played out in a similar style to the first early on, with six ties occurring.  An attack error got the Lions on the board first, but GV scored the next trio of points.  Woods soon smacked down back-to-back kills to catapult the Lions ahead 5-4 and the squad would stay one point up until the match ended up tied at 8-all.  The Lions again built a three-point lead after a 9-9 tie, with Anema crushing three kills in a row to force Grand View to take a timeout.  The gap remained at three points after the break but GV slowly reeled in the Lions and tied things up at 17-17.  VU called its first timeout at a 19-19 tie and the decision worked to perfection, as a service error put the Lions ahead 20-19.  Anema helped the side advance to a 22-20 edge but GV put up a 4-1 run to force VU to call its second timeout.  Facing a set point at 24-23, the Lions stood tall and forced two attack errors to leapfrog into a 25-24 lead.  The final rally saw Watts and Anema jump together and reject a GV swing to give Vanguard the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.
The Lions hit .311 for the match, with 49 kills and 17 errors.  GV hit .216, with 45 kills and 23 errors.  Grand View held an edge in digs (29-25) and block assists (25-23).  Smith had a match-high 38 assists and a team-high of six digs.  Vaisuai and Anderson tied with six block assists to pace VU and Woods had seven kills and only one error on 13 attempts.

Why is it Important?  The Lions have now won both matchups with GV and enters the bracket stage of the NAIA National Tournament for the second time in program history.  21 kills is the second-highest tally for Anema this campaign and he now has 300 total kills this season, the second time he has reached 300 in his career.
In other news, the OUAZ Spirit and the Park (Mo.) Pirates are playing for the crown of Pool D and Pool A is still up for grabs, though Benedictine Mesa is in the driver's seat against Georgetown (Ky.) later tonight based on the tie breaker rules.
 
What was Said?  "We played a very good Grand View team this afternoon," stated Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "It was not our best play overall, but we did play really well.  I've been coaching a long time and this tournament is brutal, but I know our guys are up for it.  It's time to get ready for TMU tomorrow in the semifinals.  Two wins to go."
 
 
What's Next?  The Mustangs swept Menlo in the first match of the day, setting up the fourth matchup between the two Golden State Athletic Conference foes in the semifinals.  The Friday match will begin at 4 p.m. CST, 1 p.m. PST.