ATHERTON, Calif. – Vanguard's return to conference action came in a 3-1 loss against Menlo, Friday evening at Haynes-Prim Pavilion. Despite an efficient VU hitting night, MC went rampant from the service line as Bryce Nowak tied a conference record for third-most aces in a single match (9). The opening two sets went to the wire, with the Oaks squeezing out 26-24 and 25-22 set scores. The Lions came from behind to win the third frame 25-20 but were denied a fourth five-set match in a row, as the Oaks took the final stanza 25-12.

In their penultimate game of the 2025 campaign, the Blue and Gold drop to 8-16, 2-9 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Menlo (10-12, 3-5) win their third straight and shift the all-time series matchup with the Lions to 8-3 in favor of VU.

Micah Sybesma continued his career-best streak of games with double-digit kills (5) and finished the night with a team-high 13. He hit .632 (13-1-19) for the match and snared two block assists and an ace. Nick Dvorak was second in team kills with 10 and terminated at a .500 clip. Logan Finley hit .333 on his way to nine kills and five digs. Phinehas Wiley returned from injury to pile eight kills and seven digs together in the road effort. Sean Nguyen leads the ranks in setting, with a team-best 27 helpers and six digs.

Though their numbers tapered off in the latter sets, the Blue and Gold held a glaring lead in overall hitting percentage, outhitting MC .305 (46-14-105) to .170 (44-25-112). The Oaks, however, made up the difference at the service line, putting up a season-best 14 aces on the board to VU's two. The battle in the front row went narrowly to the Lions, who led in blocks 8-7. Menlo had the advantage in block assists (12-8) while VU won solo blocks (4-1).

What Happened?: Menlo hit a respectable .281 (15-6-32) to get the match going and led 3-1 early off their first ace of the night. Nick Dvorak and Sybesma each torched the back row with consistent setting from Nguyen through the middle as the score was clinched to 7-7. The Oaks then regained confidence with a 4-0 run, as the Lions were pushed into their first timeout. Though Menlo maintained a 3–4-point lead, VU recovered, utilizing their .400 (15-3-30) hitting percentage to keep themselves within distance.

Down 21-17, the Lions made a 6-1 run which featured gritty front-row coverage on the blocks to force errors and take the lead. Nick Dvorak wedged one through the seams for set point VU (24-23) but the Oaks came together for the necessary side-outs to win the set.

Set 2 – The second stanza functioned nearly identical to the first with Menlo hitting a similar .276 (13-5-29) clip and the Lions once again swinging .400 (13-3-25). The three critical points to decide the set were translated by a 3-0 edge for MC at the service line.

The Lions had the 3-1 start this time with three straight attacking errors from the Oaks. Menlo made up the difference in no time, but a scoring burst from Finley and Sybesma kept the Lion lead intact. The Oaks had control of the set by the media timeout, as the home side led by three (15-12) to steer the final stretch. VU initiated another late run to try and flip the scoreline, as Finley caught heat from the right side and Nick Dvorak tied the set to 22 all. Menlo had enough in the tank to fight off the storm, sealing a 3-0 run to finish the frame.

Set 3 – VU's consistent hitting was finally rewarded in the third period as they committed just four attacking errors to Menlo's 12. The Oaks hit in the negatives but led 5-2 in aces to keep the Lions chasing for large portions of the interval.

The Oaks started the set on a deadly 7-0 run, with Nowak crushing three aces in a row. The Lions measured the situation with a quick timeout and churned out a 4-2 run to start working on their way back. Brock Henderson and Matthew Compos made their introductions with two quick kills and a cluster of MC errors to put the deficit within reason at three (12-9 MC). Henderson coined VU's first ace of the game, but the two sides continued to trade evenly for an 18-15 Menlo buffer. The Oak errors caught up with the hosts, however, as 6 of the final 10 VU points of the set came courtesy of a miscue. Sybesma provided an ace to close the deal as the Lions closed the frame on a 10-1 run.

Set 4 – VU hit their lowest at .172 (9-4-29) while Menlo struck their highest at .333 (10-2-24) to dictate the tone of the set. The Lions also went without an ace for the third set of the evening, as Menlo led 3-0 at the service line.

Nowak spearheaded another sharp serving run, netting two aces for an early 3-0 Oak lead. Sybesma shot back with all three of the next Vanguard kills, but the visitors were already down 11-3. The next wave of VU offense came from Finley's pin hit and Wiley's cross-court shot to send both teams into the media timeout. The Lions suffered a streak of errors which planted Menlo on top, as the Oaks took a double-digit lead (19-9) in the closing moments. Finley had the final two Lion kills of the contest. A noteworthy pickup from Compos set up Finely's slice off the net to finish the night.

What's Next?: The Blue and Gold will reset the engines for their final game of the season, in a rematch with Menlo Saturday at 2 p.m.