Liberty University Club Sports
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Southern Virginia University
Knapp, Flames spike host Knights, ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division III
1/27/2022 10:07:15 PM | Men's Volleyball
Liberty University’s men’s volleyball team got another big match out of senior opposite hitter Josh Knapp in a 25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 25-19 victory over Southern Virginia, which bumped up three spots to No. 4 in this week’s NCAA Division III national rankings, Thursday night in Buena Vista, Va..
Before losing to the Flames by a 3-1 margin last spring at a nearby high school, the Knights, who started three freshmen on Thursday night, had won the previous six meetings over the past five seasons.
"It felt good," Liberty Head Coach Kaleb VanDePerre said. "They're always a team we prepare for well and take very seriously. It's the first time we've ever won in that gym, in that environment with their fans. It's a fun, hostile environment, and I thought our guys responded really well. We served really well and blocked well, stayed disciplined. It was nice to see the guys play within themselves instead of trying to do too much, trusting the guys around them."
Knapp, who finished with a match-high 22 kills and five block assists and added 11 digs, started the match with a kill off a block from the left side. He stretched the lead to 4-1 with a right-side kill off a saving dig and set from senior outside hitter Cross Edwards (8 kills, 9 digs) before adding a one-timed kill from the middle on the ensuing point.
"He played well right from the start," VanDePerre said of Knapp, who hit at a 36.6 kill percentage. "He served much better and that translated to the rest of his game. We ran our middles (sets) really well early and that helped the offense run through Josh."
A spike by senior middle hitter Lucas Marine (7 kills, 37.5 kill percentage, 4 block assists) up the middle and stuff block by senior setter Tommy Speelman (33 assists, 3 aces, 3 block assists) on the right side pushed Liberty’s lead to 8-2.
“He provided a big spark for us, energy-wise, with his blocking,” VanDePerre said of Marine, who missed the Flames' sweep of Virginia on Saturday in the Liberty Arena to attend a wedding in his family. “He’s kind of the heartbeat of the team when it comes to getting the guys hyped up.”
Knapp’s back-row, cross-court kill from the right side gave the Flames an 18-14 advantage before Speelman set up Edwards with a trick assist from right up against the net for a clean kill on the left side. A kill by senior middle hitter Ben Dowd (4 kills, 5 block assists) made it 20-16 and a stuff block by senior outside hitter Tait Lapham on the left side prompted SVU to call a time out, trailing 22-17.
Back-to-back combined blocks by Speelman and Marine on the right side, the last over the Knights’ defense into the back court, closed out the 25-19 first-game victory for the Flames.
Knapp tied Game 2 at 2-2 with a cross-court kill from the right side and put the Flames up 9-7 with another from the left. A stuff block by Marine made it 13-9 before Knapp served a winner. A 7-0 run by the Knights gave the Knights their first of the match, 16-14. A stuff block by Dowd from the middle reclaimed the lead for the Flames at 18-17 before a cross-court kill by Edwards put Liberty up 20-18. A kill by Knapp into a double block and an ace by Speelman led to another SVU timeout, trailing 22-18, and the Flames closed out the game after another kill by Knapp off a block.
The Flames started Game 3 with three saves of balls nearly out of play and a back-row kill by Knapp. A cross-court kill by Knapp and an SVU block and spike out of bounds increased Liberty’s lead to 6-2.
Later in the game, a five-point rally by the Knights gave them an 18-17 lead before Knapp tied it back up with a spike from the right side off a block. Lapham served an ace before SVU used a 6-1 run to seize a 24-20 lead. Four straight points by the Flames, including two Knapp kills off blocks, tied it at 24 before Knapp was rejected on his fifth spike of the ensuing point and Edwards was stuff blocked on game point, cutting SVU’s game deficit to 2-1.
A Marine kill off a short set from Speelman pushed the Flames to a 10-6 lead in Game 4 before Edwards spiked a kill off a block, prompting an SVU timeout. Edwards’ cross-court kill kept the Flames up 13-10 and a power kill by Knapp down the right sideline pushed the lead to 16-12.
A stuff block by Dowd and spike kill from the middle extended the Flames’ advantage to 21-18 before a spike by Edwards was not returned and Speelman won two points on his serve, setting up a match point.
Service errors throughout the match plagued the Knights, who gave the Flames 20 points in the four games.
Liberty will return to action next Thursday night against Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association (ECVA) rival Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. in Liberty Arena before hosting the first of two ECVA South play dates of Feb. 5 in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center.
"It will be really good to see another good crowd to play in front of (next Thursday)," VanDePerre said. "(SVU) made us earn a lot of points and that will carry over well against Virginia Tech, which has big blockers, hard hitters, and is another seasoned, veteran team. Like us, Tech's got a bunch of old guys that are familiar with each other and there is a good level of respect both ways."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
