COSTA MESA – Vanguard struggled to slow down a hot hitting The Master's squad, falling in four sets in men's volleyball action on Thursday in the Freed Center.
The Lions dropped a pivotal third set in losing by set scores of 16-25, 25-15, 23-25, 11-25 to their old rival from the Golden State Athletic Conference.
VU is now 2-2 on the season. TMU improved to 2-0.
Freshman Logan Freemon led the Lions with 11 kills. Grant Dvorak and Micah Sybesma finished with nine kills apiece as both players hit over .300. Sybesma added a pair of service aces.
Phinehas Wiley had a team-high eight digs, while Brock Henderson dished out 21 assists.
The Mustangs hit .340 for the match, including .444 (12-0-27) in the fourth set. Braden Van Groningen collected a match-high 20 kills on .417 hitting. Preston Schmidt led the Mustangs defensively with 19 digs.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The Lions stayed close until midway through the set. Freemon and Nick Dvorak teamed up to stuff Isaac Seltzer to tie the match at 10-10. But TMU responded with a 5-1 run to take at 15-11 lead.
TMU ended up scoring 15 of the final 21 points as the Lions managed just seven kills in the 25-16 loss.
Set 2 – In a complete about face, the Lions dominated set two hitting a monstrous .700 with 14 kills in an errorless 20 swings.
TMU countered with a respectable .318 (11-4-22) attack percentage, but VU jumped out to leads of 6-3 and 10-6, and kept the pressure on throughout the set.
Grant Dvorak had back-to-back kills, while Nick Dvorak contributed a kill and an ace to build the lead.
TMU fought to get within three points on three separate occasions, but the Blue and Gold had an answer each time. With VU leading 15-12, the Lions sped away with a 6-1 run, helped along by two more Grant Dvorak kills.
The 21-13 lead was more than enough to propel the Lions to the 25-15 victory. Sybesma nailed a pair of kills and combined with Henderson on a block of Van Groningen to reach set point. Another Van Groningen attack error clinched the set for VU.
Set 3 – Fourteen ties and six lead changes marked the most competitive set of the match. VU took an early 5-3 lead on another Grant Dvorak kill, but TMU scored three straight points to go up 6-5.
VU went on a 3-0 mini run of its own courtesy of three straight Freemon kills for a 10-8 lead. The Mustangs tied the match at 11-11, and again at 15-15. VU looked to take control as a 5-2 run opened up a 20-17 lead. The Dvorak's stayed busy with Nick logging a solo block and kill, and Grant posting a kill as well.
But the Mustangs stormed back, notching five of the next six points to reclaim a 22-21 lead. TMU's block went into full effect, featuring a triple block from Seltzer, Van Groningen and Ezra Vlad.
The Lions tied the set at 22-22 following a TMU service error. After the teams traded points to get to 23-23, the set ended on back-to-back TMU connections as Van Groningen put down a kill, followed by a Seltzer ace.
VU outhit the Mustangs .269 to .226 but was hurt by six service errors.
Set 4 – The close win uplifted The Master's, which built an early 9-3 lead. Van Groningen had four of his seven kills to help the Mustangs build the advantage.
Freemon tried to keep VU close with a pair of kills, but the Mustangs countered with a 7-2 surge to widen the margin to 16-6.
Three of VU's next four points came courtesy of TMU service errors as the score eventually reached 21-10.
VU emptied its bench with freshman Peter Albert tallying his first collegiate kill. Gabriel Repplinger also notched his first collegiate kill earlier in the set.
TMU scored the final four points to post the 25-11 triumph, outhitting the Lions .444 to -.054.
What's Next?: Vanguard hosts No. 13 UC San Diego on Friday at 7:00 p.m., marking the return of former Lions head coach Brad Rostratter to campus.
