SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Vanguard men's volleyball capped the regular season and senior night with a compelling sweep of #6 Menlo on Friday night.  The Lions won 25-18, 25-20, and 25-19, with each senior netting kills to the delight of the home crowd.  Vanguard improves to 13-2 overall and 8-2 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.  Menlo falls to 11-7 overall and 3-6 in league play.  The Lions will now watch the match tomorrow night to learn what seed the squad will be for the GSAC Tournament.
 
What Happened?  Before the game, the Lions honored the contributions of Will Anderson, Glen Linden III, Ryan Smith, and Jacob Van Groningen.  All four have been standout players over the past few years, helping the team win an NAIA National Championship last year and putting the team on the right path for a repeat.
 
After the fanfare, MC put down the first two points of the evening but a kill from Anderson and an ace by Andrew Sheveland put the Blue and Gold on the board.  The sides exchanged service errors but a kill by Linden III got the Lions a 5-4 edge.  The block then put VU in the lead for good, as back-to-back stuffs by Linden III and Smith put the advantage at 7-4.  Kills by Sheveland, Smith, and Micah Sybesma all contributed to a five-point Vanguard lead that soon reached 15-10. 
 
Menlo put up a couple of late runs to trim the deficit, as a 3-0 stretch brought the lead down to 17-14 and a 4-0 run later on made the score 20-18.  But each lunge was countered by the Lions, with Anderson landing two aces in a row to negate the first Menlo rush.  VU then finished off the set on a 5-0 streak, with Leilua Kruse and Linden III pocketing kills.  A couple of mistakes by the Oaks allowed VU to win set one 25-18.  MC hit .056 in the frame and VU had a .368 rate.
 
Set Two 
The best set of the night offensively for the Blue and Gold saw the squad hit at a .556 rate, with 12 kills and only two errors on 18 attempts.  Though Menlo scored first again and held a one-point edge through the opening stages, the Lions did not let the Oaks extend the gap beyond one or two points.  Back-and-forth the teams slugged it out, but tied at 14-all, VU hit their stride.  An error gave the Lions a little lead and a block by Sheveland and Sybesma increased it to 17-14, and the Oaks would only score five more times from there.  Anderson and Sheveland each recorded kills and an ace by Linden III handed VU the middle set 25-20.  Menlo hit .208 in the second period.
 
Set Three
This time, VU did not waste any rallies early on, storming out to a 4-0 lead with two aces from Smith.  The lead would hover around five points after that, with Kruse picking up three kills along the way.  Though Menlo tried to string an extended run together, VU answered each MC point the rest of the set, with a kill by Anderson giving the Lions a 25-19 win in the third to complete the sweep. The Lions hit .444 in the final frame, with 18 kills and two errors, while Menlo had a team-high .360 mark in the third.
 
Vanguard hit .452 in the match compared to Menlo's .224 rate.  The Lions won the kill counter (41-28), the service game with an 8-4 edge in aces, and the battle at the net with a 6-2 lead in block assists.  Anderson led all players with 12 kills while hitting .348 in the contest.  Sheveland had eight strikes and Kruse and Sybesma each had six.  Linden III had five kills, no errors, and one block assist.   Sybesma had two block assists to pace VU.  Sheveland led the Lions with six digs and Smith had 35 helpers.
 
Why is it Important?  The Lions are a little in the air when it comes to seeding for the GSAC Tournament.  If TMU wins tomorrow, VU will be the second seed.  If OUAZ wins, the conference office will share the tiebreaker result between TMU, OUAZ, and VU for the top three spots in the tournament.  Menlo has to beat Hope International tomorrow to be the fourth and final seed in the event that starts on April 19 at TMU.
 
What was Said?  "The last couple of weeks, we have not been playing as polished as we would've hoped for," said Head Coach Brian Rofer.  "Tonight was different, the work our guys have been putting into our practices definitely showed.  Our second group has been pushing our first group this whole week and it makes a difference.  I'm extremely excited to see what we will do in the post-season as we continue this trend."