SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's volleyball (6-0) took down Vassar (0-2, 0-0 UVC) in three sets on Saturday morning in a battle of top-10 teams. Tyler Linville, Brendan Hom, and Keaton Hendry all had productive days to lead the Kingsmen to a 25-16, 25-12, 25-23 victory.

Entering the match, Vassar was ranked #7 in the preseason coaches poll, and Cal Lutheran was ranked #9.

The beginning of the match was a tight battle in which both teams traded points, with Vassar tying the score at 12-12 midway through the opening set. Cal Lutheran then went on an 11-2 run to break the set wide open, highlighted by two kills each from Hom and Aidan Godfrey. Linville had a kill, Matthew Wilcox registered a kill and a service ace, and Mason Rowell added a block during the run. The Kingsmen would go on to win the first set, 25-16.

Rowell began set two with a kill, but Vassar tied it at 1-1 soon after. The Kingsmen responded with eight-straight points, including kills from Linville and Hom, a service ace from Godfrey, and a block from Hendry. Vassar clawed back slightly to make it 11-5 before the Kingsmen went on a 6-1 run thanks to a pair of Linville kills, a Hom kill, and a pair of Hom service aces. Late in the set, a Wilcox kill and a Hendry service ace contributed to a four-point run to seal the second set for Cal Lutheran, 25-12.

The Brewers were able to keep things close for a little while in set three, but five-straight kills from the Kingsmen–Linville, Rowell, Rowell, Linville, Godfrey–opened up a 12-6 lead. Vassar responded and cut the deficit to 15-13, and then 17-16, but then Hom took over with a kill followed by three service aces and Cal Lutheran was back up by six points. Again, Vassar fought back to 23-22, but a pair of clutch kills from Aidan Godfrey claimed the set, 25-23, and the match for the Kingsmen.

Linville tallied a game-high 10 kills (.300%), adding two assists, a service ace, a solo block, and eight digs. Hom provided seven kills and a solo block along with game-highs of five service aces and nine digs. Godfrey collected seven kills (.353).

On the defensive end, Rowell recorded three solo blocks, and Braden Gonzales totaled seven digs. Hendry played all three sets at setter and racked up 26 assists.

Cal Lutheran now awaits #8 NYU in its second top-10 matchup of the day at 5pm.