IRVINE, Calif. –  The Lions overcame early hurdles Thursday night to leap over Concordia 3-2 at CU Arena. The Golden Eagles had control of sets one (25-12) and three (25-19), while VU claimed sets two (25-22), four (25-18), and five (15-12). Despite CUI's season-highs in kills (57), assists (53) and digs (52), VU utilized a confident fourth-set performance, and career-high nights from Logan Freemon and Micah Sybesma to shift momentum and secure command on the road.

The Blue and Gold (7-11, 2-5) earned  their first program win over CUI and marked their first road win of the campaign. CUI moved to 6-14 and 0-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Freemon and Sybesma combined for over half of the Lions' total kills (52). Freemon put together 19 kills and seven digs, hitting .385, while Sybesma was likewise lethal with a .429 hitting percentage while depositing 15 kills, two aces, and six blocks on CUI.

Nick Dvorak delivered eight kills and hit .200 in the win, while Jacob Bayston tallied a tidy eight digs. Brock Henderson had a critical impact for the Lions as well, contributing a season-best 45 assists.  Concordia's Gage Doble had a career-high 22 kills swinging at a potent .372.

What Happened? The five-set marathon saw both teams split segments of authority and the first frame was all about Concordia. They hit a game-best .667 (13-1-18) and took off on a 3-0 run. Phinehas Wiley had the first kill of the night for the Lions, but a 10-5 CUI run quickly set VU on the back foot and into a timeout. Down 13-6, the Blue and Gold never gained ground in the stanza and the squad's seven attacking errors were a match-worst, with a final miscue giving the set 25-12 for CUI.

Set 2- VU stifled the Golden Eagle push in the second frame as Vanguard corralled the home team down to a .194 hitting percentage and pushed out a 6-2 start, with kills split between Henderson and Sybesma. The middle blocker gathered the Lions' first ace and a hammer from Grant Dvorak kept VU in front. The Lions maintained a comfortable lead at 23-16 when CUI struck back. Two Concordia aces and three Doble kills caused some danger to the VU edge, but the Lions survived the 6-2 run to pull a set back.

Set 3- The Golden Eagles won a scrappy period, fighting through seven attacking faults and eight service errors. The home team took an 8-4 lead to open before Nick Dvorak capped off a 3-0 Lion rebuttal. Sybesma won a joust at the net and Freemon scored a tip shot from the back row to keep the Lions within 2-3 points past the midway point of the period, but the Golden Eagles had the energy for a late push. Up 17-15, CUI broke away on a 4-0 swing and never looked to take the frame.

Set 4- Each team hit over .300 in the fourth set, but Vanguard's 4-0 advantage at the service line helped control the pace in serve-receive. Henderson dragged the first ace of the set into the corner for a 7-4 VU lead and Nick Dvorak had the next ace to put VU up by six (11-5). Freemon took care of business for VU in open play, producing eight kills in the set and triggering set point with a booming kill (24-18 VU). Sybesma sent a blur from the service line that CUI could not handle to force the final frame.

Set 5- The Lions had the upper hand in aces once more (3-1) but were outhit .333 (9-4-15) - .214 (5-2-14).  Sybesma secured the first two VU points and Freemon nailed one from the service line to trim the score to a 7-6 CUI lead. However, the Golden Eagles went off target on their next two swings to make VU the first to eight points. The Lions were dominant in the second phase of the frame, delivering a 6-1 run with aces from Wiley and Grant Dvorak to mark match point at 14-9. Doble gave CUI a solid serving run to pull three points back, but a timeout from Head Coach Brian Rofer iced the server and sealed the Vanguard win.

What's Next? The Lions will return to CU Arena on Saturday, March 22 at 7 pm for a rematch with the Golden Eagles.