Liberty University Club Sports
ECVA East Coast Championships
Men’s volleyball DI, DII teams approach East Coast Championships as their nationals
3/27/2023 5:11:18 PM | Men's Volleyball
Coming off third-place showings in last Saturday’s final ECVA South Play Date at the LaHaye Multipurpose Center, Liberty University’s Division I and DII men’s volleyball teams head into this Saturday’s East Coast Championships at the University of Maryland with plenty to prove.
The Flames’ DI and DII squads both finished 4-0 in their respective pools to receive byes into the semifinals before being ousted in the third games of best-of-three matches against Virginia Tech.
“They had a little more energy at the end of the day than we did,” Liberty first-year Head Coach Josh Knapp said. “Virginia Tech is a great competitor for us. They didn’t do anything special. We didn’t put as much pressure on them as we needed to.”
The Flames DI squad needed three games to get past North Carolina State in the first round of pool play before sweeping Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, and JMU in straight sets.
“We controlled the last three matches in pool play,” Knapp said, noting that freshman outside hitter Josh Culpepper led the team in kills and attempts for the tournament while senior middle hitter Noah Marine paced the Flames with an .800 hitting percentage, with 18 kills off just 21 attempts. “Our offense has been smoothing out here recently, as we have added a few more options to help the rotations. We are feeling good about practices this past week moving into the East Coast (Championships).”
He said Marine has provided senior John Sauder and junior Jared Vazquez healthy competition for playing time at the middle hitter position.
“Our practices going well between all the three middles, pushing each other to get that top spot,” Knapp said. “Noah has been consistent. John and Jared (Sauder and Vazquez) are powerhouses, with very heavy arms and more size. (Marine) is a little quicker. He brings versatility and is a great tool for us when we need to add some speed and can get to the pins for blocking.”
Senior Tyler Wemple switched from outside to right-side hitter, with Culpepper and graduate Cross Edwards starting outside.
“(Wemple) has a very heavy arm and is a big target with great court awareness,” Knapp said. “He has been putting a lot of work in to switch to that position. He is also a great passer from the back row as well as being solid on defense, digging up balls. He is also one of our better options at back-row attack when our setter goes to the front row and we only have two hitters at the net.”
Senior setter Chase Keith kept all of the front- and back-row hitters busy, distributing assists from all angles.
“Chase has really stepped up these past few weeks,” Knapp said. “He had a great tournament and was on the floor (diving for digs) more than anyone on the court. Has been a great leader as our floor captain and captain of this team.”
Defensively, the Flames leaned on Culpepper and junior Mason Ellenberger as well as Edwards and freshman right-side hitter Zach Lamoureux, who led the team in blocks.
“Our strategy has been to stay consistent and keep putting pressure on the opponent,” Knapp said. “Our defense helped us stay in rallies longer to outplay some of those teams.”
Virginia Tech evened its record against Liberty to 2-2 on the season, after the Flames beat the Hokies in pool play and the championship match at the JMU Play Date.
“We will probably see them late in (Saturday’s East Coast) playoffs,” Knapp said. “They are a pretty solid team, along with JMU and UVA, which beat Virginia Tech in the finals this past weekend. They are a little more experienced and probably the strongest competition we’ll face with their size and experience.”
Liberty’s DII team, meanwhile, also went undefeated in pool play before being ousted by Hokies, but received the South region’s third bid to the East Coast Championships since both of the finalists, (Virginia Tech and JMU) had previously qualified at the Play Date hosted by Liberty in February.
Sophomore Bryce Weenink and freshman Zach Bell, the Flames’ two primary outside hitters, anchored the offense, applying strong pressure throughout, balanced by freshman right-side hitter Colt Fitzgerald. The strong showing helped the Flames debut at No. 10 in this week's NCVF rankings.
Both of the Flames’ teams — but especially the DI squad, which dropped five spots in the DI rankings to No. 22 — were upset to learn that, due to a registration issue that left them on a waiting list, they will not be invited to the April 13-15 NCVF National Championships in Kansas City, Mo.
“Obviously, it is a huge disappointment, for the team and for us as a coaching staff, to (be ranked in the Top 25 and) not make it to nationals,” Knapp said. “I missed two national tournaments as a player (due to COVID-19 cancelations his sophomore and junior seasons in 2020-21), so I feel for these guys. The biggest disappointment for our team is for some of those guys who finally made the Division I team after playing three years on the DII team, with this being their last year with that group of guys.”
The DI Flames feature five graduating seniors (outside hitters Jake Alderfer and Matt Marcinko, Keith, Sauder, and Wemple) and two graduate students (Edwards and libero Brannon Anderson) who will not to be able to advance to the NCVF’s grandest stage in their final seasons.
Both Liberty’s DI and DII teams are approaching the East Coast Championships as their national tournament and looking to finish strongly to give those returning players some momentum to carry into next season.
“We have had some struggles in motivation, but we are doing everything possible to keep moving forward,” Knapp said. “We are looking forward to this weekend and looking to make an impact. We have added a few different plays and systems moving into this weekend, working on some small things we need to change.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
