COSTA MESA – Senior Will Anderson notched a career-high 26 kills to lead the top-ranked Vanguard men's volleyball team to a 25-23, 25-19, 25-22 victory over No. 14 Westcliff on Tuesday inside the Orange Coast College Gym.
The 6-foot-8 opposite hit a torrid .600 with just five errors in 35 attempts. He contributed more than half of VU's 46 kills for the match. The Lions hit .463 overall – their second-highest hitting percentage in a match this season – recording just nine errors in 80 swings.
VU senior setter Ryan Smith dished out 38 assists to go along with team-highs in service aces (2) and digs (5), while Glen Linden III added six kills on .556 hitting. Andrew Sheveland and Micah Sybesma chipped in five kills apiece.
The Lions overcame 22 service errors and had a season-low three service aces against a tough-minded Warrior team, which received a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs from Gabriel Pizza. However, the Lions limited Pizza to .087 (10-8-23) hitting.
The Warriors hit just .209 (29-15-67) as the Lions had 17 more kills than the visitors.
Vanguard is now 11-0 on the season and has won 15 straight matches dating back to last season. Westcliff fell to 12-6 overall.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The first set featured seven lead changes and 19 ties in a back-and-forth battle. The largest lead was three points as the Lions were up 16-13 following one of Anderson's 10 kills in the frame.
The Warriors scored five of the next seven points to tie the score at 18-18 as Connor McCann and Pizza teamed up for an assisted block. Ilias Lazaar fired an ace to put the Warriors up 20-19 and force a VU timeout. Pizza gave Westcliff their final lead at 22-21 with a kill, but Anderson responded to knot the score again.
The score was tied for the 19th time at 23-23 when Anderson's slam brought VU to set point. Lazaar's attack error wrapped up the 25-23 victory for the Blue and Gold.
Both teams hit at a high rate with VU finishing at .419 and Westcliff .320.
Set 2 – The Lions fought off Westcliff as the two teams battled through 12 more ties.
The key to victory was a 7-2 Lion run that transformed a 13-12 deficit into a 19-15 lead. Unsurprisingly, Anderson had four kills during the surge, including twice on back-to-back points. Anderson's first kill of the set did not come until he tied the score at 10-10, but he heated up as the set wore on.
Once the Warriors got down by four, they were unable to mount enough of a rally to push VU. The Lions extended the lead 22-17 on a Sybesma kill, and wrapped up the 25-19 victory as Leilua Kruse and Linden III stuffed an attack by McCann.
VU swung at a .650 (14-1-20) clip and held the Warriors to just .042 (9-8-24) efficiency.
Seven of Westcliff's 19 points came on VU service errors.
Set 3 – Westcliff continued to push and led for a significant portion of the set before the Lions charged back late.
The Warriors built a 7-4 lead after Lazaar's kill. The Lions cut their deficit to one on three occasions and tied the score at 10-10 on another Anderson kill.
The Lions grabbed their first lead at 13-12 as Anderson found the floor yet again. Three consecutive service errors by both teams tied the score at 14-14.
Westcliff had an 18-16 lead – stopping Anderson for one of the few times on an assisted block by Lisati Vaiala and Lazaar – but the Lions roared back with a crucial 6-0 run to take control.
Anderson started the rally with one of his nine set three kills, and two straight Smith aces gave VU a 20-18 lead as the Warriors called timeout. The Lions went to Anderson out of the break and he obliged with another kill, then teamed up with Sybesma to reject Lazaar.
The Warriors had one last push as they scored four of the next five points to climb within 23-22, getting a pair of kills from Pizza. But Anderson closed the door with two straight kills to end the match.
VU hit .379 (16-5-29) in set three, while Westcliff posted a .278 (8-3-18) mark.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions won their eighth match by sweep.
What's Next?: A huge Golden State Athletic Conference showdown against No. 2 The Master's on the road looms as the two teams clash in Santa Clarita on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
