ATHERTON, Calif. -- Vanguard men's volleyball continues to pass each new challenge it faces, as the Lions cut down the Menlo College Oaks on Saturday.  The Lions remained perfect in Golden State Athletic Conference action thanks to 24 kills from Will Anderson on 36 attempts, as the senior hit at a .528 rate for the match.  VU won 25-21, 20-25, 25-15, and 25-19 to improve to 10-0 overall and 6-0 in the GSAC, with Menlo falling to 10-4, 2-3. 
 
 
What Happened?  Andrew Sheveland was responsible for the opening two kills for the Lions, who led by one point over the first few rallies.  Three unanswered points for Menlo put the home side ahead 8-6 but a powerful kill by Micah Sybesma and an ace for Ryan Smith soon leveled the set at 9-9.  The score would get locked again at 12-all but VU ran off a 3-0 run, with strikes from Reza Tahmasebi and Anderson.  Sybesma capped the run with an ace and that short spurt proved to be the difference.  The lead remained at three points until the Lions scored on five of the final eight rallies to take the frame 25-21.  VU hit .344 in the first period, with 15 kills and four errors.  MC hit .370.
 
Set 2
Menlo hit a team-high .407 in the second period, as the home side ran out an early 7-1 lead.  The two sides exchanged points but the Lions started to reel in the Oaks through the middle portion of the set, as an ace by Tahmasebi pulled VU to within one at 16-15.  But the Oaks settled things soon thereafter, as MC took an 18-17 edge and rolled away to a 25-20 win in the second.  VU hit .214 in the set.
 
Set 3
After that low point, the Lions poured more coals on the fire and steamed away in the next two sets.  The Lions and Oaks matched points over the first few rallies but VU then racked up a 7-1 streak to leap ahead 11-5.  The Blue and Gold were quick to finish off their adversaries, as ahead 17-13, the Lions rolled off an 8-2 stretch to claim the set 25-15.  Jacob Van Groningen played well down the stretch, Smith had an ace, and a solo block for Sheveland sealed the decision.  Vanguard hit .421 in the set, with 12 kills and four errors.  The defense was stifling for VU, as Menlo hit a match-low -.167.
 
Set 4
The Oaks continued to flounder in the fourth, as the squad hit .167.  Despite that eventuality, MC led 5-3 early on.  Kills by Glen Linden III and an ace from Van Groningen helped put the Lions ahead 7-6.  The score was tied two more times, but ahead 10-8, the Lions threw down a 6-2 run to surge ahead 16-10.  Menlo responded with a quick 4-1 stretch, but VU did not let the hosts get closer than three points the rest of the way.  Sheveland and Anderson recorded kills over the final few rallies and an ace for Matthew Compos handed VU the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.  The Lions hit a match-best .522, with 15 kills and three errors on 23 attempts. 
 
For the match, Vanguard outhit the Oaks .363 to .262 and had a 54-38 edge in kills.  The Lions also tallied a huge win in the ace department, netting a 13-4 advantage.  The dig count narrowly favored VU 27-26 and both teams had 12 total blocks.  Sheveland had 12 kills and a .269 hitting percentage and led VU with six digs.  Sybesma had seven kills, two aces, and one solo block.  Smith had 49 assists, a team-high four aces, and three digs.  Linden III paced VU with three block assists.
 
Why is it Important?  Vanguard is now 6-1 against MC, increasing the win streak to six in the process.  It was the first big conference road test, as the Lions play will have three of the final GSAC games on the road.  VU holds a two-game lead over The Master's in the standings.
 
What was Said?  "This was the first match we had to play when we had a long day of travel," relayed Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "Even though we were outhit in the first set, we served really well and managed to win the set.  The second set was a complete debacle, everything and anything that could go wrong did go wrong.  This occasionally happens with any team, but our guys again showed a lot of maturity and came out in the third set with a lot of composure and played well.  It was definitely a team effort down the stretch.  We had guys come off the bench and do an exceptional job for us.  It was a good test for us and I think we passed it."
 
What's Next?  The Lions play Tuesday night at OCC in a nonconference match against #14 Westcliff.