Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Liberty to introduce retooled lineup at Saturday's tournament
10/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
The biggest news involving Liberty University's men's volleyball team in the offseason, besides the addition of a handful of talented recruits, is the Flames' shift from a 5-1 to a 6-2 offense.
Head Coach Bryan Rigg said the new formation — which he will debut at Saturday's season-opening tournament in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center — will give his squad more flexibility from the setter position and better passing and defense on the back row.
"If we had a weakness last year, it was in our passing and our scrappiness on defense," Rigg said, noting senior libero Josiah Williams was one of the best in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) in both categories, but didn't have much in the way of support. "Josiah was all-EIVA, a great serve receiver. But when you looked around him, when it didn't go to him, we got mediocre passes, which put the offense out of system. We're going to be a lot better where we were weak last year."
With the shift to the 6-2 attack, Liberty will rotate freshmen Eli Plasterer and Kaden Knepper — all-district players for rival high schools in Mechanicsburg, Pa. — in the role of setter.
"They're both great defenders and setters who competed for the last four years in the same district," Rigg said. "They're totally excited (about becoming teammates). They both are great leaders, have intangible qualities, and are good under pressure."
Last season's primary setter, Nick Williamson, will shift to a new position to utilize his leaping and spiking abilities.
"Nick was one of the hardest working guys in the offseason and really improved his vertical jump, so we've moved him to the outside hitter position along with T.J. Forsyth, a transfer from Lancaster Bible College," Rigg said.
In turn, junior Josiah Hershberger will move back to the middle hitter position where he will platoon with sophomore Luke Werth while senior Sam Eisbrenner will shift to the right side hitter spot.
Williamson, Williams, and freshman Joshua Talamoa, originally from Hawaii, will be the Flames' three main service-receivers on the back row.
"It's going to be a totally different dynamic," Rigg said. "This opens up every combination you can think of. We have a ton of flexibility and, comparing videos, we feel we're much further ahead of where we were at this time last year. Our offense is looking a lot better with better passing, which gives our setter more options."
He said the incoming freshmen and transfer student-athletes will help raise the level of play right away.
"This year's team will look a lot different," Rigg said, although leading hitter Kevin Snyder was the only starter who graduated. "We returned a lot of starters, but the recruits we got this year are high-quality guys who have had a ton of volleyball experience. The newcomers have hit the ground running and adjusted very well."
The depth on this year's squad will enable the Flames to have two entries in tournaments — a Division I and Division II team. That is also true of two of the four opponents in Saturday's home event — Alderson Broaddus (W.Va.) University, an NCAA Division II program that is bringing three teams, and Virginia Tech, which will enter two teams after one finished fifth in the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) Division I championships and another placed in the top 10 of the Division II championships. Duke and VCU will enter only their top teams in the five-team Division I bracket, which will compete on one court in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center while the four Division II/III teams square off on the other.
"It's great to have a home tournament," Rigg said, noting Alderson Broaddus was originally planning to host the event. "We're excited about that. It'll be some of the best teams we've ever hosted here and the best competition we've ever hosted for a fall tournament."
Liberty's Division I team is scheduled to play Alderson Broaddus at 10:15 a.m., Virginia Tech at 12:30 p.m., and Duke at 2:30 p.m. in the round-robin tournament with no playoffs planned.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
