Men’s volleyball swings its way to tournament title at NC State

Saturday, October 25

Cary, NC

9:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

NC State University

Liberty's DI men's volleyball team finished first in Saturday's ECVA South Preseason Tournament at North Carolina State.

Men’s volleyball swings its way to tournament title at NC State

10/26/2025 10:13:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Liberty’s DI team split with UNC Greensboro in pool play before sweeping the Spartans in Saturday’s final.

After Virginia Tech's ECVA South Preseason Tournament in Blacksburg was canceled due to the Hokies currently serving a suspension, Liberty University's men's volleyball team entered its two squads into a smaller tournament with 16 Division I and II teams at North Carolina State on Saturday.

Both Flames squads experienced tremendous success playing in the same bracket, with their DI lineup capturing the championship with a sweep of UNC Greensboro and their DII squad winning its pool before falling to UNCG in three games in the quarterfinals.

"We would have seen a few bigger names at the Virginia Tech event, but this was a nice event we were able to go to more of last-minute," said Liberty Head Coach Josh Knapp, who bounced between both teams with none of his assistant coaches available to make the trip. "This gave us a little more diverse team grouping than we saw at (last Saturday's) home tournament, with most teams more local to North Carolina."

"Both of our teams had good showings," he added. "It was great seeing our top team make it all the way through finals and win, and for DII to get to see some of those Division I teams for a great aspect of competition, playing against a little more size, skill, and experience. Being seeded third out of four teams in their pool and taking first place after pool play, they played great."

Liberty's DI squad opened pool play by dominating Elon (N.C.) University, 25-12, 25-15, before also sweeping Duke University's DII team, 25-20, 25-11, and splitting with UNCG, 23-25, 25-20. In the playoffs, the Flames swept the Blue Devils' DI team, 25-18, 25-20, in the quarterfinals before cruising past the UNC Wilmington in the semifinals, 25-17, 25-13, and UNCG in the final, 25-18, 25-17.

"All our guys got playing time throughout the event and were able to handle these teams no matter who was on the court," Knapp said. "Each person played a really important role, and they showed really good team engagement. We are starting to form more of a connection as one team and one unit, moving together. We have great athletes on our roster and great talent, but how we're going to see success this season is getting them to play together, and they really shined together this weekend."

The Flames played senior setter Josh Culpepper, who is nursing an injury, in the second pool play game against UNCG, the second playoff game against Duke's DI team, and both games of the final.

"Throughout the whole day, we started our backup setter, (sophomore) Will Radi, who set for us and ran a really clean offense," Knapp said. "It was great to see that he can take that role and handle running our offense. The guys have confidence in him, and he did a great job throughout the tournament. I was really happy with the improvement shown in decision-making and the choices both setters made."

When Culpepper did take the court, he ran the show without reservations.

"Culpepper has been with us now for three years, and he is well established with our systems and offense," Knapp said. "He didn't practice on Friday but was able to step onto that court and find his rhythm really easily, and our guys trust him. He handled the responsibility great and managed the game well. It was really great to see him stepping up as one of those great leaders and captains who controls the pace and tempo on the court."

He said Culpepper and senior opposite hitter Zach Lamoureux have put an emphasis on serving in practices this preseason, and it has paid off in the matches so far.

"Josh and Zach have put intentional effort into our serve, and Josh's serve really gave us some separation in that (finals) match," Knapp said. "We want to be a tough, hard-serving team with a strong block setup, and he had multiple aces throughout the games he played in. He saw great consistency and pace, standing out on his serve and bringing that intention to that service line and his all-around game."

Liberty's DII team split its first match against VCU's DI team before sweeping UNC Charlotte's DI team and UNC Chapel Hill's DII team in pool play and falling to UNCG in three.

Knapp said the Flames rallied behind sophomore outside hitter Connor Cranage and junior outside hitter Guilherme Mora Queiroz, as well as sophomore right-side hitter Liam Reinmuth, a left-handed transfer.

"We have two really great outside hitters stepping up for us who have been putting in excellent work with their play on that second roster," he said. "Both are really bought in and are great athletes and are really leading that team with their offense and play and physicality they bring to the court. They are stepping up and putting everything they have into their training and in the weight room, making sure we're competing at the highest level."

"Liam has practiced a lot with the DI team throughout the fall semester, working with Zach Lamoureux being our captain hitter on right side," Knapp added. "Liam is a really big offensive weapon and is gaining more confidence on that court."

Culpepper and Lamoureux will join the Flames' beach volleyball team this week as it gears up for the home stretch in preparation for the Nov. 7-9 national tournament in Huntsville, Ala.

"We will put more priority on our beach team over the next two weeks, and we are excited to hit the sand to see what we can piece together for our national championship tournament," Knapp said. "Zach and Josh will get good reps for us, and (junior) Anthony (Bernardo) and (senior) Colt (Fitzgerald) have played together a few times, so (sophomore outside hitter) Joshua Davis may be seeing competition with (sophomore) Nathan Knickerbocker."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer