FULLERTON, Calif.  -- Vanguard men's volleyball opened Golden State Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night against a new-look Hope International side.  While the Royals showed their improvement, they were still not able to take a set off the Lions, as VU completed the sweep 25-18, 25-18, and 25-21.  The Lions improve to 4-0 overall and go to 1-0 in conference action, while HIU falls to 4-6, 0-1.
 
 
What Happened?  Vanguard got the first point of the night off an error, and though HIU quickly tied things at 1-1, the Lions soon corralled a decisive edge.  A 9-3 streak propelled the Blue and Gold to a 10-4 lead, with Will Anderson, Reza Tahmasebi, Glen Linden III, and Ryan Smith each pocketing kills.  While the Royals had a 3-1 stretch to make a small counter lunge, the Lions would have none of it.  A kill for Micah Sybesma helped restart the VU attack, as the lead grew to 20-13.  Tahmasebi had two strikes down the stretch and a service error gave the Lions set one 25-18.  Vanguard had a .500 hitting percentage in the first frame, with 13 kills and two errors on 22 attempts.  HIU hit .115.
 
Set Two
The Lions gashed the HIU defense in the middle frame, as the squad hit .625, with 11 kills and one error on 16 attempts.  VU started with a 5-1 run, with Andrew Sheveland getting a kill and an ace during that stretch.  HIU scored a couple of points but the Blue and Gold kept hammering away, outscoring Hope 10-7 from there to net a 15-8 advantage.  Sheveland and Linden III each threw down big kills and Tahmasebi picked up another tally during the hot streak.  HIU called a timeout and scored the next three points, but the Lions answered with three of their own, including an ace for Sybesma.  The Blue and Gold scored four of the last five points, with Anderson collecting the final kill to give Vanguard set two 25-18.  HIU hit .167 in the second set.
 
Set Three
The Royals again hit .167 and had a team-high 11 kills in the third period, while the Lions collected a .310 attack percentage in the third.  Two errors put the Lions on top and kills from Tahmasebi, Linden III, and Anderson helped Vanguard take a 7-4 edge.  The Royals did a better job in the third of keeping up with the Lions, as the home side rarely trailed by more than five points.  However, they could not tie the period and two kills from Sheveland through the middle stages to keep the VU edge at four points.  Anderson picked up an ace to put Vanguard ahead 22-18 and kills by Sheveland and Sybesma a few rallies later allowed VU to complete the sweep with a 25-21 set win.
 
Vanguard hit .448 for the match, with 38 kills and only eight errors.  The Royals hit .149 in the contest.  VU had a 4-2 edge in aces and a 26-21 lead in digs in the matchup.  Anderson recorded 10 kills for the second-straight game, hitting .400 on the night with only two errors.  Tahmasebi and Sheveland each had eight kills.  Smith had 29 assists and Tahmasebi paced the Lions with 10 digs.
 
 
What was Said?  "Hope International is a much-improved team from last year," said Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "They pass and dig well.  We played a consistent game and were able to stay focused through most of the match.  We have areas to improve on and we will address them over the next couple of practices to prepare for TMU this Saturday."
 
What's Next?  VU will host top-ranked The Master's on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Calvary Chapel High School.