SANTA ANA, Calif. – The No. 1 Vanguard men's volleyball team wasted little time in dispatching Arizona Christian, winning 25-18, 25-17, 25-18 in a tidy one hour and five minutes at Calvary Chapel High School on Saturday.
The Lions hit .433 (36-7-67) – the third time this season they have swung at a .400 clip or better – and held the Firestorm to -.031 efficiency. VU trailed just once in the entire match, when ACU scored the first point of the third set.
Vanguard spread the wealth offensively with six players collecting at least three kills. Andrew Sheveland and Micah Sybesma led the Blue and Gold with eight kills apiece. Will Anderson tallied six kills and four blocks. Twelve Lions saw playing time, the most in any match this season.
Sybesman hit .727 with no errors in 11 attempts. Sheveland tallied four service aces while hitting .538 (8-1-13). Glen Linden III hit .300 with four kills and a match-best five blocks.
Setter Ryan Smith notched 31 assists, three aces, three digs and three blocks.
VU is off to its best start in school history at 9-0 overall. The Lions maintained their hold on first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference with a 5-0 mark.
The Firestorm, who were led by Aaron Knudsen with eight kills, fell to 1-12 overall and 0-5 in the GSAC.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The Lions roared to a 25-18 win behind .480 hitting. Sybesma led the Lions with four kills, while Sheveland and Anderson chipped in three each.
VU exerted control at the outset and led 12-6 following an assortment of kills. But the Firestorm scored five straight points to chop VU's lead to one.
The Lions recovered as Sybesma threw down consecutive kills. VU increased its lead to 15-11 after an ACU attack error, but the Firestorm fought to get within two on three separate occasions. VU pulled away thanks to a 5-0 run – with two of those points resulting from assisted blocks by Linden III and Smith.
Leading 22-15, the Lions notched their final three points on kills from Smith, Linden III and Sheveland.
Set 2 – Vanguard hit .333 and limited ACU to -.087 in a 25-17 win. The Lions broke out to a 6-0 lead as Smith served three straight aces and Sybesma posted a pair of assisted blocks.
The Firestorm fought back by scoring 10 of the next 16 points to pull within 12-10, aided by an array of various Lion errors. But the Blue and Gold responded with a 5-0 run to extend the margin to seven. Sybesma helped key the surge with a pair of kills.
VU coasted from there, punctuated by a triple block from Sheveland, Linden III and Smith. Matthew Compos fired an ace to polish off the victory.
Set 3 – The Lions rushed out to a 7-3 lead, but the Firestorm reigned in the Lions and trailed just 10-9 following a VU attack error. But as they did throughout the match, the Lions utilized a well-timed run to create distance. In this case, three straight points reopened a four-point advantage, with Sheveland throwing down a pair of kills.
The Lion run eventually reached 8-1 as various bench players entered the match. Redshirt freshman Logan Finley had a kill to give VU a 14-10 lead, and Jacob Van Groningen terminated as the gap widened to 18-10.
Cameron Voshell saw his first action of the season, and he was at the service line for three straight points, including an ace as VU led 22-11. Finley slammed a kill on match point to seal the 25-18 win.
VU hit a match-best .500 (11-2-18), while ACU hit negative for the second straight set at -111 (6-8-18).
Why Is It Important?: The Lions got several role players into the match for important playing time and extended their school record winning streak to 13 straight matches dating back to last season.
What Was Said?: "I was happy with the composure and focus our guys had against Arizona Christian," said Head Coach Brian Rofer. "Last night's match against OUAZ was highly competitive and it's really difficult to come out 15 hours later and compete after a high intensity match. I'm really happy with the way we came out today. It shows a maturity we are developing as a team and as individual athletes and also how very much our guys respect the game. I was able to work some other players in with the starting lineup today. They all did a phenomenal job. It's really important that every player on the roster is ready to play if we are going to be successful this year."
What's Next?: After playing eight of their first nine matches at home, the Lions venture to the Bay Area for a showdown against No. 6 Menlo on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m.
