Liberty University Club Sports
University of Virginia
Flames volleyball opens spring season by sweeping Virginia in Liberty Arena
1/22/2022 9:05:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Liberty University’s men’s volleyball team christened its 2022 spring season with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-22 sweep of Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association (ECVA) rival University of Virginia before a crowd of approximately 1,000 fans in the sparkling Liberty Arena.
Playing without seniors Lucas Marine, who was at a family wedding, and Logan Spieker, who is sidelined with a season-ending knee injury, the Flames were shorthanded, but showcased their depth and still managed to run an efficient offense.
Senior outside hitter Josh Knapp paced the Flames’ attack with 11 kills, hitting at a phenomenal 71.4 kill percentage.
“We were down a few guys on the bench with some injuries, and we were missing Lucas, so we had a few guys pulled up from our B team to help out,” Knapp said. “We were a little short-staffed, but we have a long bench and guys who have been here for a long time to be able to bring up and mesh with the (A) Team.”
Back-to-back kills by senior outside hitters Cross Edwards and Cody Reinsma, who combined for 11 kills in the match, stretched Liberty’s lead to 19-13 before a stuff block by senior middle hitter John Sauder (4 kills) a few points later and two service errors by the Cavaliers closed out the first game.
“We’ve been working on our middles a lot and (Sauder) looked great,” Flames Head Coach Kaleb VanDePerre said. “John stepped up big in Luke’s absence in the middle and then our split setters were running our middles in transition a lot better than we have in years past, which opens up the pins.”
Knapp unloaded two kills late in Game 2 for a 22-14 advantage before the teams traded service errors, and Ben Dowd set up game point with a spike kill before tapping a sharp-angled winner just inside the left baseline to secure a 2-0 lead.
“Ben has been working on his spacing, and it looked good tonight,” VanDePerre said. “His offense has really turned up, which helps us.”
In Game 3, powerful kills by Sauder and Knapp boosted Liberty to an early lead before VanDePerre started rotating in his reserves.
“We put them under pressure,” VanDePerre said. “Just playing in front of fans in a big atmosphere is good for the nerves … to get out of their comfort zone and learn how to jell as a team.”
He started senior setter Tommy Speelman the first two games before allowing junior Chase Keith to run the offense for much of the third.
“Both are super capable, so just getting guys chances to show what they’ve got on the big stage,” VanDePerre said.
Senior Tait Lapham put the Flames up 23-20 with a cross-court kill through a block before Dowd set up match point with a kill off a block from the middle and Virginia spiked out of bounds to end the night.
“We had a lot of good hitting options, and our offense looked pretty solid throughout,” Knapp said. “We had a good, solid serve receive that we’ve been working on and good setups in our blocking. We’re really just focusing on our serving now, just trying to get everything dialed in so we can peak for our larger games and tournaments coming up.”
The Flames anticipate a much more challenging match when they host Virginia Tech in the Liberty Arena on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. First, they will travel to Southern Virginia University this Thursday at 7 p.m.
“The next two matches will be tough, good battles for us early,” VanDePerre said. “The front half of the schedule is loaded with Penn State coming here, too, so we’re excited.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Caitlyn Brown/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant
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