Men’s volleyball sweeps NCAA DIII Illinois Tech and Roanoke College in tri-match

Saturday, January 27

Roanoke, VA

4:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Illinois Institute of Technology

Junior outside hitter Zach Lamoureux (center) is flanked by sophomore setter Josh Culpepper (left) and senior libero Mason Ellenberger. (Photos by KJ Jugar)

Men’s volleyball sweeps NCAA DIII Illinois Tech and Roanoke College in tri-match

1/28/2024 10:00:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Liberty passed its first two tests of the semester in preparation for Tuesday's ECVA opener against Virginia at Liberty Arena.

Liberty University's men's volleyball team swept Illinois Tech, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21, and rallied to defeat fellow NCAA Division III host Roanoke College, 21-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-23, in an exhibition tri-match in Salem, Va., on Saturday.

"This was a great opportunity to play solid competition and see NCAA DIII-level programs match up against our own," Flames Head Coach Josh Knapp said. "The games against these programs were all closely matched and getting two good wins over NCAA DIII opponents is a great start to the spring semester."

Knapp said the matches served as excellent preparation for Tuesday's 7 p.m. regular-season opener against ECVA rival Virginia and the following Monday night's match against Virginia Tech, another conference rival, at the Liberty Arena.

"The play of our athletes showed great progress in all of the areas we have been working on in the gym, but not without exposing more areas of improvement to focus on to meet our goals as a program," he said. "We look to make the improvements we need in order to continue to find success on the court throughout our in-conference competition with (NCVF) Nationals in sight (April 9-11 in Kansas City)."

He said the Flames were sluggish at times, but played their best volleyball when it counted the most.

"For each set, we started out slowly, struggling to find a rhythm and a foothold in the opponent's play," Knapp said. "This put us in a difficult position toward the end of each set, leaving us with no room for error."

When it came down to making plays during crunch time, the players delivered in the clutch.

"Every athlete on the court did not shy away from the pressure of the close matches and was able to stay focused even while down by multiple points while the opponent had the advantage," Knapp said. "We have a great piece to the puzzle of seeing how the athletes handle pressure and how they finish each game."

Offensively, freshman and sophomore opposite hitters Anthony Bernardo and Zach Lamoureux and graduate opposite hitter Tyler Wemple paced the Flames' attack.

"Anthony had a great performance through both matches, being our most proficient scorer in key moments to make plays at the net," Knapp said, noting that he had 25 kills on the day, nine against Illinois Tech and 16 against Roanoke, while Lamoureux had 10 kills in both matches and Wemple contributed 8 and 18, respectively. "(Bernardo) leads through his play and mindset throughout the match, keeping us within reach of our opponents. Anthony continues to improve both in his play through the creativity of his movements and vision at the net to make the right decision and in his mindset as a young athlete."

Lamoureux received the most sets throughout the day, with 70 hitting attempts, and did an excellent job of extending play along the net.

"Zach has been continuing to find success and advance his play on the court by coming from multiple different positions, after playing opposite hitter last year," Knapp said.

Sophomore setter Josh Culpepper (70 assists) and senior libero Mason Ellenberger (38 digs) also played key roles in distribution and on defense.

"They continue to be huge foundational pieces on the court to give us the consistency we need to find success," Knapp said.

Middle hitter Jayden Rice had four kills in both matches and a team-high four blocks between the two.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer