COSTA MESA – Men's volleyball's first-ever win in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation came in an insistent 3-1 bout with Menlo on Saturday afternoon. The intense four-set showdown produced 43 ties and 17 lead changes, as both traded blows in a scrappy game of runs. Though the Oaks looked confident in the first frame winning 25-23, VU owned the remainder of the day, wrestling control from the visitors to take the final three sets, 26-24, 25-20 and 25-21. The Blue and Gold (6-9, 1-3) bounce back from Friday's loss to Menlo and stake claim to their MPSF win in program history. The Oaks sink to 6-8 and 1-1 in the conference.
Grant Dvorak's return to the starting lineup came with his first double-double of the season as he went for a match-high 20 kills and 11 digs to lead the way. He also chipped in a season-best four blocks.
Phinehas Wiley also went for season-best marks, clocking 14 kills at a .444 (14-2-27) conversion rate. His offensive bursts in the final set were also paired with seven digs and three blocks. Logan Freemon tallied 13 kills, while Micah Sybesma finished with nine kills and five blocks. Libero Jacob Bayston impressed with 13 digs with only one reception error and Sean Nguyen fashioned a career-best 36 assists.
The Lions hit .282 (63-23-142) for the contest and produced season-highs in digs (54) and assists (58). Menlo hit .170 (44-21-135) but led narrowly from the service line with a 6-4 edge in aces.
What Happened?
Set 1 – The Lions led 7-5, with four points coming from Freemon and Grant Dvorak. Menlo primarily made themselves dangerous from the left side in the opening two sets and put together an 8-5 push to lead at 13-12. Grant Dvorak continued to cause issues for MC, scoring his eighth kill of the stanza for a moment of VU stability at 16-15. The set saw five more ties, and one long-winded rally before Menlo cracked open a 24-23 lead to make it set point. Vanguard could not snatch the side out, as the Oaks rode the momentum of Friday's win to snag the first set.
Set 2 – Menlo fired off a game-low .067 (9-7-30) hitting percentage in the set to Vanguard's .242, but the Oaks remained dangerous in serve receive, leading in aces 4-1. The Oaks started on a 3-0 run, but VU punched back with a 5-1 swing to lead 5-4. Freemon had the next VU kill going cross court to pinch the score at 8-8. The Lions inched forward into double-figures, as Menlo continued to hit in the negatives. The visitors would find their footing in the second phase of the set after VU's five-point lead (16-11) was undone on a 12-6 Menlo run. Each side committed errors to trigger set point Menlo 24-23, but VU scrapped their way back. They found two kills through Freemon and their first ace of the day from Sybesma to avoid trailing 2-0.
Set 3 – Set three was VU's catalyst for catching control. Both teams cranked up the intensity, as Menlo mounted another solid 5-3 start. Nguyen worked tight at the net to finish the dump and a bad set by Menlo saw cut the deficit to 11-9 Oaks. The Blue and Gold boosted themselves back on a 7-3 run to earn just their fourth lead of the set. Nick Dvorak caught the Oaks snoozing in their ready positions and dropped an ace in the donut to put VU up 18-16. The period finished with another bad set error by Menlo, and the Lions stretched into a 2-1 lead.
Set 4 – VU hit .317 (18-5-41) to Menlo's .225 (12-3-40). The Oaks worked to get their middles more involved and sported another hot start leading 8-3. VU set their middle in Sybesma to branch their way back and ignite an 8-3 run to tie the score at 11. The set would then turn into a dogfight, as both teams fought off injuries and mustered an arms race to see who could quickly re-spark an offensive rhythm. Wiley went to work from there, his five kills and steady passing providing the Lions with a 23-21 advantage. Freemon initiated match point Lions on the set from Caleb Peters and Sybesma swung through the seams to hand VU their first MPSF victory.
What Was Said?: "I expected our team to show resilience today after last night's match and they did just that," said Head Coach Brian Rofer. "Sean did a great job running our offense and Caleb did the same when he had the opportunity in the fourth set to win the match. We are maturing every match and everyone on this team is starting to realize they must accept the responsibilities of their roles and be prepare to execute every game at any moment. As long as we continue to improve and get more consistent every day, I cannot ask anything more from our athletes. We have three days of practice before hosting the number two team in the nation."
What's Next?: The Blue and Gold welcome No. 2 UCLA on Thursday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m.
