COSTA MESA-- Wednesday night was a famous evening in the history of Vanguard men's volleyball as the Lions took down No. 9 UC San Diego in five sets for their first program win over a nationally ranked DI program. It is also the second-ever win over a DI program and first since a sweep over CSUN in Feb. 2023. Vanguard paced the night with wins in set one and three, but UCSD clawed back to take the fourth frame. The Lions had the answers in a cagey conclusion however at the Freed Center, with VU taking the win in five sets (25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12).
The Lions' historic night snaps a six-game skid, bringing them to 4-10, 0-4 in conference play. UC San Diego suffered its first loss in four games, dropping to 8-5 on the season.
43 ties and 20 lead changes set the canvas on a tight-knit contest between both sides. They were even in nearly every statistical category: kills (49-48 VU), aces (11-11), blocks (11-11), assists (47-43), digs (33-31). Both sides also struggled from the service line, combining for 49 service errors. The Tritons had a narrow leg up in hitting percentage, .248 (48-21-109) to Vanguard's .234 (49-23-11).
What Happened?
Set 1- The two sides both hit sub .100 and combined for 18 kills with 13 errors. It was even splits through double-figures in the box score, with 11 of the 16 ties in the set taking place by the 13-all mark. The Tritons used a 3-0 burst to trigger the media timeout, while
Micah Sybesma stabbed two of Vanguard's next three kills to make it 17 apiece. After a VU service error and Triton kill, the gap widened to a two-point lead for the visitors, but the Lions erupted on a 5-0 run to cut through the red zone and go up 22-20.
The Tritons had two attack errors and a service miscue during the VU burst. They recovered with a pair of kills, but Vanguard got hot at the service line, with aces from
Logan Freemon and
Willy Wang piecing together an 8-3 conclusion to the 25-22 set one win.
It was just Vanguard's second set-one win of the season.
Set 2- The Tritons recovered to clean out their match-best .375 (15-3-32) in the second period. VU was also improved at .208, but could not match the Triton pace, as the visitors garnered seven more kills on eight more swings.
Braddock Duckworth had the first VU kill from the quick set from Wang.
Cole Oliver connected for the next Lion kills, finishing off both pins for a 5-5 score. Freemon found a two-point burst, with a kill and a double-block alongside Duckworth to settle the tally at 8-all. VU seemed poised to press on as pace setters; they used a 5-2 run to go up two (13-11) thanks to a Duckworth ace and back-to-back kills from Oliver.
Despite the hefty slot of scoring left on the table, Oliver's kill was the VU's penultimate of the period. They lost track of UCSD after two Triton aces pushed a 6-1 run and left the Lions playing catch-up. Sybesma scored the last two VU-manufactured points, with the remaining lot coined from Triton errors.
Set 3- Vanguard's most convincing set win came with a .433 (16-3-30) label as the Lion offense got rolling. Though
Grant Veldman tacked on the first point, the Tritons were out to a healthy four-point lead after a 7-2 run. After an early timeout, VU was placed back on track by Oliver's kill, his first of five in the stanza.
The Tritons continued a steady lead, but lost out on two net calls and were dealt a solo block from Veldman, fueling the Lions within four (11-7 UCSD). The Lions used two Freemon kills to go for an 8-4 run to clinch the frame at 15-all. They had just one attack error through the remainder of the set, as the downpour sprayed eight kills over the Tritons down the stretch. A 10-6 VU run, which included five unanswered to win the period.
Set 4- UCSD made it clear they would not go down without a fight, scraping together a narrow 25-23 over the Lions despite being outhit .400 to .261. Wang kicked off the set with an ace followed by three Lions kill split through Sybesma, Oliver, and Freemon. The Lions pinned a 5-1 run on the board to shoot up 9-5.
Vanguard's lead, though steady, was not impregnable from the early stages of the set. UCSD tightened up in serve receive with two aces, and a tensive Vanguard coughed up four errors, including a bad set to put the Tritons up 12-11 on a 7-2 run. Oliver answered with two more kills, and a double-block from Freemon and Duckworth kept the Lions level at 16. The Tritons downed another two aces, using four in the set to boast a 6-2 run (22-18 UCSD). VU's attempted comeback was helped by three consecutive Tritons errors, but it was Vanguard's short serve that pushed the fifth and final set.
Set 5- The final set was a bare-knuckle slugfest with both teams hitting in the negatives. Though UCSD led 3-1 in blocks, the Lions made the difference at the service line, piling constant service pressure that set off a 3-0 lead in the category.
Wang headlined a 5-1 start to the set with two aces, as the Tritons used a quick timeout. The energy was different after the break. UCSD enforced a sizable lineup to clutter the seams and put a rowdy VU crowd to a standstill after they opened up a 10-3 run, which included five points in a row.
The Lions welcomed a Sybesma ace and UCSD service error to break double-figures but still trailed by two (12-10).
The Tritons went empty for the remainder of the game, streaking four attacks in crunch time. Veldman had the complete opposite fortune, netting four kills in the frame and double-block with Duckworth for match point. The timeoutless Tritons were taken down by their own fault, as a line shot struck wide, placing the 2026 Lions in the VU record books as the first team to take down an NCAA DI nationally ranked opponent.
Oliver tied a game-high with 16 kills, hitting .345, and was primarily supplied by Wang, who had 39 dimes, four digs, and a season-best five aces. Freemon fired 11 kills on the board to go along with four block assists. Sybesma and Veldman combined for 17 kills, and Duckworth delivered a career night at the middle with seven blocks.
What Was Said? "The test for us will be this Friday when we play them at UC San Diego," shared Head Coach
Brian Rofer after the win. "How we compete against them on Friday will help us define who we are at this point of the season. It's been a rough schedule for us, and I'm really proud of the way this team is responding."
What's Next? The backend of the home and home with No. 9 UC San Diego will be on Friday, February 27 at 7 p.m. in La Jolla.
