COSTA MESA -- Opening night for Vanguard men's volleyball resulted in the first sweep of the year for the #3 team in the country on Thursday night. The Lions needed to work through some early season rust before the squad started to pull away from the visitors, as the Blue and Gold were never under threat in the second or third sets. VU took the match 25-18, 25-14, 25-14, and were led on the night by
Andrew Sheveland with 11 kills. Newcomer
Reza Tahmasebi had nine strikes and
Micah Sybesma impressed with booming serves, netting five aces, as Vanguard corralled 14 aces as a team to the Bobcat's two.. The Lions start the year 1-0 and drop UC Merced to 1-7.
What Happened? Sheveland deposited the first kill of the season and then joined Sybesma for a block to put VU up 2-0. But then the team got out of rhythm, as the more seasoned Bobcats swung the period in their favor with a 7-5 edge. However,
Glen Linden III responded by putting down two powerful kills to vault VU ahead 8-7 and get the lineup back on track. The Bobcats tied things at 8-8, but that would be the last time in the set that they would do be even with the Lions. Three straight attack errors by UCM put VU ahead 11-8 and the Lions would expand that out to a 7-4 stretch to snare an 18-12 lead. The Bobcats closed a little down towards the end of the period, but not enough to really apply serious pressure, as an attack error gave VU set one 25-18. The Lions hit at a .087 mark in the first, holding the Bobcats to a -.160 rate.
Set 2
UC Merced took the first two points of the frame but Sheveland replied with a long run from the service line, as he put down two aces to help the Lions leap ahead 5-2. Tahmasebi put down a pair of kills over the first few rallies and he and Sybesma each landed aces to increase the advantage to 11-6. A solid strike from Tahmasebi put VU up 15-11 and that gave the ball to Sybesma at the service line, where he proceeded to land two aces to increase the advantage to 21-11 as part of an 8-0 run. Vanguard closed out the set with two kills from Sheveland, as the Lions took the second frame 25-14. VU hit at a .357 rate in the second and UCM increased their efficiency to a .174 mark.
Set 3
This time, the run came early, as VU blew past the Bobcats 11-3 to start the third period of play. Sheveland was joined by
Will Anderson in putting down kills during that stretch, with Anderson and Sybesma each garnering an ace as well. UCM made a short 4-0 streak to bring the gap down to 11-7, but the Lions would outscore them 14-7 the rest of the way. Anderson and Tahmasebi were behind most of the kills, with
Ryan Smith rising up on a free ball to pound out his first kill of the new campaign. He would add a second soon after and
Matthew Compos would chip in one final ace to seal the win and give VU set three 25-14. The Lions were in a groove in the third, hitting .571 in the period, with 13 kills and one error on 21 attempts. UC Merced hit .053.
The Lions had a hitting percentage of .333 as a team for the contest and kept the Bobcats in check at a .015 mark. VU had a 31-16 edge in digs on the night and an 8-2 lead in block assists. Sheveland hit .625, with only one error on 16 attempts. Anderson had eight kills and led the team with eight digs. Smith paced VU with 33 assists and had six digs, with Tahmasebi and
Sean Nguyen next with five digs apiece.
What was Said? "I saw some really good things from all of our athletes tonight," said Head Coach
Brian Rofer. "We served extremely well and also passed well. Will struggled a bit hitting, but with the strength of our pin hitters, Reza and Andrew, it really showed how well-balanced we are. If we continue to pass at this level, Ryan will be able to set our middle attack more and Glen and Micah will get some high percentages. Micah was phenomenal from the service line tonight and Matthew is so reliable as a serving specialist that I am confident that I can put him in at any moment."
What's Next? The Blue and Gold will play in the Forum tomorrow night against Simpson at 7:00 p.m.
