COSTA MESA – A host of new faces took the Freed Center court for the first time for Vanguard men's volleyball, and registered a 25-23, 25-23, 25-21 victory over Merrimack to open the 2025 season on Thursday.
The Lions hit .392 in a solid display of togetherness, no small feat considering the Blue and Gold had five newcomers among the seven players who competed.
True freshman Logan Freemon made quite the impression in his collegiate debut with a team-high 12 kills on .588 hitting. He added a pair of service aces, two block assists and two digs.
Opposite Grant Dvorak chipped in 11 kills while hitting .333 to go along with a team-best five digs. Phinehas Wiley overcame a slow start to finish with seven kills and three block assists.
Freshman Braddock Duckworth totaled a match-best five blocks.
Among the Lion returners, middle blocker Micah Sybesma hit .429 with seven kills and just one error in 14 attempts. Sean Nguyen did a superb job running the offense with 33 assists, as the Lions hit better than .300 in all three sets.
Merrimack received a match-best 15 kills from Logan Whitaker. The Warriors fell to 0-2 on the season.
What Happened?
Set 1 – Sybesma knocked down the first kill of 2025 to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The two teams battled through five early ties before a 4-0 run put the Warriors in front 8-6. Merrimack maintained the two point advantage at 11-9 when the Lions benefited from three straight Warrior miscues.
Armed with a 12-11 lead, it was short lived for the Lions as Merrimack replied with three straight points of their own to go back up 14-12. The Lions eventually tied the score at 16-16 following a kill from Dvorak and a Duckworth ace.
After five more ties – the last at 21-21 – the Lions made a late push with three consecutive points. Dvorak started the mini run with a kill, followed by a big combo block from Duckworth and Wiley. Dvorak found the floor again to provide VU with a 23-21 lead.
A rare triple block – courtesy of Wiley, Duckworth and Dvorak on Kai Vogel – moved the Blue and Gold to set point at 24-22. The Warriors fended off the Lions once as Vogel terminated a kill. However, Sybesma finished the proceedings with his fourth kill to give VU the 25-23 triumph.
VU hit .310 (13-4-29), overcoming an even better hitting performance from Merrimack, which came in at .385 (13-3-26).
Set 2 – The set went down to the wire again, but the Warriors broke out to early leads of 5-1 and 7-3. Nick Tidik and Whitaker teamed up to block the Lions on four separate occasions to build the cushion.
Dvorak pounded a pair of kills, and Duckworth and Freeman combined to reject Ephraim Abhulime as the Lions crept within 9-7.
The Lions eventually completed a 5-1 run to knot the match at 10-10.
The team teams settled into more back-and-forth play as the scoreline was tied 10 more times. Freemon handed the Lions a 22-21 lead with a kill, but a VU service error evened things at 22-22.
Two attack errors from Vogel benefited the Lions as the home team reached set point at 24-22. The Warriors staved off a 2-0 deficit as VU committed a service error, but Freeman throttled the floor with a putaway for another 25-23 victory.
The Lions swung at a .333 (13-4-27) clip, while the Warriors cooled off considerably at .154 (11-7-26).
Set 3 – VU fell behind 4-2 before embarking on a 4-0 run, punctuated by another Duckworth and Freemon assisted block.
The Lions opened up an 8-5 advantage, but the Warriors answered with three straight points to tie the score. Merrimack took an 11-10 lead on a Kasen Owens kill, but Sybesma tied the score on a kill. It was already the seventh tie of the set in a similar look to the first two frames.
There would eventually be 12 ties in the set, the final one at 16-16.
The Lions then took control with a 5-0 run, which included two aces by Freemon. The 21-16 deficit was too much for Merrimack to overcome. Two straight kills from Wiley took VU to match point at 24-20, and Freemon put down the final dagger as the Blue and Gold took the 25-21 triumph.
VU hit a sizzling .565 (15-2-23) and limited Merrimack to .269 (13-6-26).
What Was Said?: "It is always nice to be happy with the expected. I have very high expectations for this group, and tonight, they met the expectations I have for them at this early time of the season," said Head Coach Brian Rofer. "Sean was very good at managing the game. Micah continues to play and improve as one of the premier middles in the league. Logan Freemon did what Logan Freemon does. As a true freshman, he will be earning a ton of respect as we continue playing in the strongest collegiate conference. Braddock had a good overall night and will continue to improve as he competes for that spot. Grant played a solid game at the opposite position and brought a lot from the service line. Our co-captain Phinehas struggled a bit hitting early but finished strong. He was very good passing and had some great blocks. And all this does not happened if we do not get a quality passing performance from our libero, Jacob Bayston. Always good to start your NCAA journey 1-0."
What's Next?: The Lions do not return to action for two weeks until a Friday, January 24 jaunt to UC San Diego. The Lions will face their former head coach, Brad Rostratter, for the first time in a 7:00 p.m. match.
