Liberty University Club Sports
Virginia Tech
Men’s volleyball eliminated by host Virginia Tech’s A squad, alumni teams
10/30/2021 9:22:36 PM | Men's Volleyball
Saturday’s first indoor club tournament of the fall semester — and first in nearly two years— served as a bit of a wake-up call and reality check for Liberty University’s men’s volleyball A team, which was eliminated by host Virginia Tech in the first round of the Gold Bracket playoffs.
Playing without three projected starters sidelined by injuries in practices this week, the Flames held their own in pool play, sweeping the Hokies’ C team, 25-17, 25-17, and splitting with an NCAA Division III opponent from Washington, D.C., 25-21, 23-25, before winning a crossover match against the University of Virginia’s A team, 25-16, 25-20. However, facing Virginia Tech’s A team, Liberty hit at only a 2.2-percent rate (compared to 20.8 for the tournament overall), and sustained a 25-16, 25-18 setback that ended its day in the quarterfinals.
“They took us to the woodshed and showed us where we need to be,” Flames Head Coach Kaleb VanDePerre said. “Tech will be a solid team and have a good shot at (the NCVF National Championships April 14-16 in Phoenix) as well. We will use that match as a barometer and if we meet them again next weekend (at the Liberty Fall Tournament) it will be a good litmus test for where both programs are heading toward nationals.”
Cross Edwards paced Liberty’s attack with 21 kills, followed by fellow senior outside hitters Cooper Guillaume, a B team call-up, with 17 and Tait Lapham, who had 14, matching senior middle hitter Luke Marine’s total.
Besides missing senior opposite hitter Josh Knapp (knee) and outside hitter Cody Reinsma (back), sophomore middle hitter Jared Vazquez filled in for the injured senior Ben Dowd (ankle) and had an impressive debut.
“We pulled him up and he did so well for never having experienced anything like that before,” VanDePerre said. “He made a ton of blocks and plays and was soaking it up like a sponge. He has been progressing so well in practice, but is so new to the game, so to see him perform so well was really promising.”
Despite playing without Guillaume and Vazquez, the Flames’ B team gave the Hokies’ A team a competitive battle in pool play, only falling by a 25-22, 25-21 final before splitting with Penn State’s B team, winning the first game 25-22 and dropping the second 25-16.
However, Liberty lost a crossover match to Virginia Tech’s alumni A team, 25-17, 25-18, before being eliminated by the Hokies’ Alumni B team, 25-19, 21-25, 15-13, in the semifinal round of the Silver Bracket playoffs.
Junior right-side hitter Tyler Wemple (18 kills) and senior right-side hitter Matt Marcinko (15 kills) sparked the Flames’ offense.
Overall, VanDePerre said the tournament was a good first test for the Flames’ A and B teams.
“We were down a lot of bodies, but still played pretty well to the end,” he said. “We’ve got to perform better and prepare better, but we were forced to put guys in positions they didn’t expect to be in. It was good to throw them into the fire now and see what it takes to beat these teams when it matters. Having a good bit of adversity is going to help reveal to us early on how we can get better.”
Liberty will host its Fall Tournament next Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center, with eight A teams and 12 B teams expected from East Coast Volleyball Association (ECVA) opponents Penn State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke, North Carolina State, North Carolina, and VCU.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
