WEST DES MOINES, Iowa.  -- One win away!  Vanguard men's volleyball took another step towards the 2023 NAIA National Title by defeating The Master's Mustangs on Friday night.  The Lions went toe-to-toe with the best hitter at the tournament stat-wise but came out on top in a thrilling five-set match, winning 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, and 15-13.  Will Anderson and Kyle Anema carried the mail for VU, notching 24 and 23 kills respectively.  That was able to counter the 34 kills from TMU's Nolan Flexen, who came up one shy of his NAIA Tournament record of 35.  The Lions gathered their strength towards the end of the fourth and never trailed in the fifth to advance to the championship match tomorrow, with Benedictine University Mesa set to be their opponent at 3:00 p.m. PST.  VU is now 19-5 overall and TMU will end the year also at 19-5.
 
 
What Happened?  Anema set down the first kill of the night from a Ryan Smith pass but Flexen tallied two kills and two aces to put the Mustangs up 5-3.  Valesis Vaisuai launched down his first kill to help the Lions respond and a strike from Anderson and two from Tanner Woods bumped VU into an 8-7 lead.  The two sides could not dance away from each other for long though, as the set would be tied 11 times after that.  Vanguard tried to make an escape move for the finish line at 18-18, as an ace for Cody Watts and another booming kill from Anema sent the Blue and Gold up 20-18.  Still, TMU replied with two quick points, but a service error by Flexen put VU up 21-20.  Tallies for Anema and Anderson put the squad up 23-20 and another Anema kill made it 24-21.  The Mustangs got one more kill but made an error during the next rally to give Vanguard set one 25-22.  The Lions had 17 kills and only two errors in the frame for a .417 hitting percentage.  TMU hit .310 with 12 kills and three errors.

The hopes for a sweep died in the second set, as after another Anema kill started the period, the Mustangs seized control early on.  From a 4-4 tie, TMU rolled out a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 edge before Andrew Sheveland and Watts put down kills to cut the gap to two.  Despite a couple of good presses that closed up the score to within one or two points, Vanguard could not catch up and tie the period.  The Mustangs led from the 4-4 tie through the end of the set, taking the second 25-22.  TMU blasted away at a .480 clip, with 13 kills and one error, while VU hit .464, with 17 kills and four errors.

The third frame saw a little more seesaw action, with Anema picking up the opening point for the third time on the day.  The Lions then got an ace but were called out of rotation to surrender the point to TMU, though Watts made up for it by bashing down a ball on the next rally.  The Master's got a kill and two aces from Flexen to jump ahead 5-4 and TMU would lead over the next few rallies.  Down 9-7, Vanguard ripped off a 5-1 stretch, with Sheveland netting an ace and Watts and Anema snagging kills during the run.  But the 12-10 advantage would soon melt away, as a 9-4 streak by the Mustangs would see them go ahead 19-16.  A timeout by Vanguard stopped the attack for one rally, but TMU closed out the frame with a 6-3 run that gave them the set 25-20.  The Mustangs hit .583, a match-high, in the third, with 16 kills and two errors on 24 attempts.  The Lions hit .400, with 11 kills and three errors on 20 attempts.

While the outlook was not totally bleak, the situation became a little more desperate, with the Mustangs on the brink of a victory.  Not dismayed, an error by Flexen allowed Vanguard to take the first point of the set and Anderson and Vaisuia each pocketed kills to increase the lead to 5-2.  Glen Linden III netted an ace to put the Lions up 5-2.  Even though a couple of errors allowed the Blue and Gold to surge ahead 7-3, TMU hacked the score back to level pegging at 9-9 on the shoulders of a 6-2 stretch.  Vanguard was able to put a little separation between themselves and the Mustangs, with Anderson recording a kill and an ace to steal a 14-12 lead for VU.  The Master's again responded with a good period of play, tying the game at 19-all over the next few rallies.  Even though TMU continued to have an answer for each VU kill, the Mustangs could never take the lead and Vanguard started to grow in confidence and belief.  Anderson tallied three kills towards the end of the set and two from Anema allowed Vanguard to win the period 25-23.  VU hit .423 in the period, with 14 kills and three errors, while TMU hit .448, with 16 kills and three errors.

With four sets of high-quality volleyball in the books, the fifth was needed to determine who would move on to the title bout.  Anema and Watts set the mood by stuffing Flexen, with Vaisuia and Smith teaming up to do so again on the next rally.  Flexen then found an opening to get TMU on the board but Anderson threw down a huge kill to make it 3-1 Lions.  The Mustangs then polished off a 3-1 run themselves to tie things at 4-all, but an error and a booming kill by Anderson put the Lions back up by two at 6-4.  The Master's tied things at 6-6 but the Blue and Gold did not buckle under the pressure.  Anderson battered down a kill and another ace from Sheveland launched VU ahead 10-7, as The Master's called its first timeout.  While TMU got the next point, a kill for Anderson was followed by a thundering strike from Anema to make it 12-8 VU.  The Mustangs rallied for four of the next five points, with Vanguard calling a timeout ahead 13-12.  Anema sensed the big moment and pummeled down another kill to put the Lions up 14-12, with TMU calling its final timeout after that.  Flexen gobbled up another kill but it would be his last, as Anderson ended the set and the match with a powerful right handed shot to win the final frame 15-13 for VU.
Both sides hit their worst in the final set, with Vanguard at .150 and TMU at .222.

For the match, the Lions hit .385, had 66 assists, 39 digs, eight aces, and 10 block assists.    Smith had 56 helpers to lead the field and Ryan Jew had 10 digs.  Watts had seven kills and no errors on 10 attempts, with Vaisuai next with six kills for the Blue and Gold.  Sheveland had three aces to lead the side and Vaisuai also paced the line up with three block assists.    
 
Why is it Important?  Vanguard reaches the championship match for the first time in program history and goes to 3-1 on the season against The Master's.  The Redhawks of Benedictine Mesa swept Park (Mo.) and will play the Lions tomorrow.  Benedictine won two of the three regular season matchups this campaign.
 
What was Said?  "TMU served extremely well and we could not bottle up Nolan Flexen as much as we wanted," stated Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "We lost some opportunities by not taking care of the ball, but if we play one clean game tomorrow, we will win the title.  Will played at the high level we needed him to and Andrew Sheveland stepped up in a big way.  Kyle still played so well that even if he had some struggles, he was one of the best players on the court and his leadership is so crucial.  All on the line tomorrow, and everyone will have to step up.  We just need one more win to achieve our goal."
 
 
What's Next?  3:00 p.m. PST for the final game of the year.