COSTA MESA- The first-ever meeting between the Lions of Vanguard and Tigers of Edward Waters went to four sets, with the Lions losing ground in a hard-fought fourth frame (32-30) but striking back to earn the win with final set scores of (25-14, 25-10, 30-32, 25-17).

The Blue and Gold snap a two-game skid to rise to 3-4, 0-4, while Edward Waters loses against just their fourth ever west coast opponent to move to 1-4.

Grant Veldman notched career-highs in kills (17), digs (12), and aces (4) to fuel the Vanguard win. He was a red-hot .583 (17-3-24) across the four sets. Cole Oliver was next in line with his own season-high of 15 kills on .355 hitting (15-4-31). The transfer took home three aces from the service line and also added six digs.

The final Lion in double figures was Logan Freemon, with VU's floor captain finishing one dig shy of a double-double with 10 kills and nine digs. Brock Henderson had a 40+ piece (45 assists) as the Lions' primary setter, and Jacob Bayston equaled his season high- 12 digs.

EWU's Parfait Mugabo matched Veldman's 17 kills, and also tallied two aces and six digs.

VU won all major statistical categories, with their largest leads being in kills (55-30), digs (51-33), and assists (52-27).

What Happened?
It was a grim start for the visitors, who fell flat against the Lions' .423 (14-3-26) hitting percentage in the first frame. Edward Waters went negative and did not score in open play until the 8-2 scoreline out of their first timeout.

It was all about Veldman in the opening stages, who cannoned five of their first eight VU points on the board. Logan Finley also notched a pint during, with a dipping effort from the service line.
The service pressure persisted from VU, as they netted four unanswered in the period. Freemon found the sweet spot for Vanguard's next ace, and Veldman dished out his second of the set for a double-digit Lion lead, 13-3.

Two VU errors helped push a 4-1 EWU run. The Tigers stalled their own momentum, however, with two attack errors as a pair of Freemon kills and Braddock Duckworth's drive down the middle planted the Lions in the red zone (20-11).

With no timeouts left, the Tigers produced just one more kill in the set, as the Lions used  Veldman's third ace and an Oliver cross-court kill to win the set.

Set 2
VU came out swinging once more, hitting .381 (10-2-21) and holding the Tigers to .000 (6-6-29). The Lions especially made their presence felt in the front row, cleaning out a 3-0 lead in blocks.

Five EWU errors and a Veldman kill spelled a 5-2 lead for Vanguard at the set's launching point. Freemon tacked on another find from the right pin, and Oliver found a pair of kills for a dominant Lion scoring burst to breach double figures (13-4 VU). Henderson set Finley up for a clean crack on the gap set, and Oliver's kill count in the set rose to four after a dominant left pin swing (21-9).

The Tigers fashioned their first in two points, but it would be the final note of the frame. VU scored four in a row, including a monster double block closed out by Henderson and Duckworth, and Veldman ended the set at the service line.

Set 3
20 ties and 10 lead changes is perhaps the most poignant way to address the 62-point set between both sides.

Edward Waters had their match-best frame, clipping 13 kills at a .278 rate (13-3-36). The Lions, meanwhile, were held down to a .244 mark (20-9-45), their game-low.

The Tigers drew first blood, and Veldman answered for VU with a 2-kill push to reclaim the lead. Finley and Oliver added to the silky Vanguard start, with Oliver offering another ace  for a 6-4 VU score.

The Lions' clockwork offense seemed frozen from there; VU gave up two bad sets and a service error to steer EWU back in front (9-7 EWU). The service error accumulation also held weight for both teams, as they combined for eight overall in the period. After a trifecta of ties midway through the set, the Lions rallied back out of the media timeout to push a 5-1 run and stand two points shy of the red zone (18-16 VU).

Vanguard coughed up two more attack errors, however, ending their bolt of momentum before Veldman eventually stopped the bleeding with another kill. At 19-all, the Tigers took the steering wheel to squeeze out a 7-4 run and earn set point. VU errored three times during the stretch.

Freemon and Oliver came to the rescue, splitting three kills between them and flipping the scoreline for match-point VU (26-25).
It took five Vanguard match-points before the hosts were finally rattled of their commanding position. The Tigers piled on two late aces, including a tape tickler to finish the 3-0 run and win the set 32-30.

Set 4
Despite the Tigers' taste of rhythm, the Lions unceremoniously reset the pace, hitting .429 in the last set and cutting down the EWU efficiency back to .000 (6-6-25).

The set started with an Edward Waters attack error, a service error, and a pair of VU kills made by Freemon and Veldman. Then Veldman prompted a 7-1 Lion run, highlighting a longstanding serving run with an ace and also sporting the pass for the eventual Duckworth kill (11-5 VU).
Mugabo handed EWU back-to-back kills out of their timeout, but Oliver shattered their scoring with a crunching strike that spun through the triple block at the left pin.

With the match at 12-7 VU, service errors once again took control of the game's scoring narrative. The team lined up 16 between them in the set, and for EWU, proved a steady contributor to their scoring margins. Seven of the final 10 Tiger points in the match came by way of Vanguard error, while the Lions used five serving miscues from Edward Waters to trigger both match point and the winning point in their return to the win column.

What's Next? The Lions continue their home stand with UCI on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.