Flames men’s volleyball falls to Buckeyes in final of Hoosier-Illini Classic at Indiana

Saturday, February 15

Bloomington, IN

TBD

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Chicago

Liberty, led by Head Coach Josh Knapp (right), rose to the occasion at the Hoosier-Illini Classic after not having the chance to practice all week.

Flames men’s volleyball falls to Buckeyes in final of Hoosier-Illini Classic at Indiana

2/18/2025 11:44:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Liberty finished 4-2 in the two-day tournament against mostly Midwest competition, beating co-host Illinois in the quarterfinals and Wisconsin in the semifinals.

Liberty University's men's volleyball team finished 4-2 to place second out of 16 teams at the Hoosier-Illini Classic, defeating Wisconsin, the 2023 NCVF National Champion and 2024 runner-up, in the semifinal round before falling to Ohio State 25-18, 25-18 in the final.

Flames Head Coach Josh Knapp said the team was unable to practice last week due to snow canceling campus activities on Tuesday and Wednesday and travel time required to get to Bloomington, Ind., on Friday.

"Our overall play at this event was not to our full potential and was sloppy, with more unforced errors on our side of the court than usual," he said, blaming it in on the lack of consistent touches in blocking, service and serve receive, and their offensive and defensive systems. "Still, even through multiple challenges and play not being the cleanest in our systems, we showed great determination and focus in big moments against tough opponents."

Knapp was able to give plenty of playing time to both his starters and reserve players throughout the two-day tournament.

"Almost the entire roster saw play and use during matches through this event with supporting roles on the service line or defensively in the back row as defensive specialists," he said.

Liberty finished 2-1 in Saturday's pool-play matches, beating the University of Illinois Chicago, 26-24, 25-20, and Alabama, 25-22, 27-25, before falling to the Badgers, 25-21, 25-22.

"We struggled in that match, beating ourselves with errors and poor execution of our systems," Knapp said.

On Sunday, the Flames rallied to win their quarterfinal match against tournament co-host University of Illinois, 23-25, 29-21, 15-12.

"That was a battle where we showed our grit and determination under pressure," Knapp said. "In the third-game (tiebreaker), we started down 0-6 before scoring our first point of the set. Trailing 8-2, we called a timeout to come together and rally."

Junior outside hitter Zach Bell came into the game as a serving specialist and sparked the Flames with a eight-point service run to lift Liberty to a 10-8 lead, boosted by big blocks on the right and left sides of the net. The Flames went on to win, 15-12, to set up a rematch with Wisconsin in the semifinals.

"The team was excited to rally together for the grudge match against one of the best teams at this event," Knapp said after the 15-25, 26-24, 19-17 triumph. "It was a hard-fought battle, taking the game into overtime in the third set. We were running out of subs and timeouts, but in the end, won match point on 19-17 on a block by senior middle blocker Jayden Rice against their primary hitter on the opposing side."

Sophomore outside hitter Anthony Bernardo spiked a team-high 43 kills over the six matches on 98 attempts with 17 errors. He also had six service aces and 23 digs.

"Anthony continues to be a leader on the court for us in his play," Knapp said. "He led the team in kills and overall attempts on the ball for the event. Anthony controls the pace of the games and is reliable across all play, from the service line, passing, and his offense."

Knapp said Rice enjoyed one of his best performances to date in the tournament contributing 19 kills on 28 spiking attempts with only one error for the two-day event, including seven kills on eight attempts with no errors in Liberty's quarterfinal win over the Illini.

"He played an almost perfect match and was automatic at the net for us with his offense and a few well-timed blocks," Knapp said of Rice. "He was taking over multiple matches for us, being a huge aspect of why we found close wins in playoffs. Our middles continue to be very good options for us, with Jayden Rice and Austin Leach stepping up, leading the team in hitting percentage and providing great energy for the team off big plays at the net."

Leach contributed 20 kills, five blocks, and four block assists and Rice added four blocks and three block assists. Sophomore opposite hitter Josh Davis spiked 28 kills with 12 digs, five blocks, and three block assists. Junior middle hitter Zach Lamoureux spiked 11 kills and had five blocks and four block assists. Sophomore libero John Kinzler made 41 digs while junior setter Josh Culpepper distributed 125 assists with 23 digs, four blocks, and three block assists.

"In the end, this roster showed great promise and future potential," Knapp said. "The systems and play were not executed to the level we know we are capable of. Still, the athletes all showed resilience to fight despite personal inconsistency against high-caliber teams that challenged us. This event is a steppingstone, and there is so much more to come. Each athlete on this roster is ready for the work it takes to be best prepared for the goals set out in front of us, and we will continue to push forward with our sights set on our conference events."

Liberty will travel to compete in a tri-match at Roanoke College on March 21 before playing in the ECVA South Championships at Virginia Tech on March 29, where it will seek to qualify for the East Coast Championships at the University of Maryland on April 5. That event will determine seedings for the NCVF National Championships in Phoenix from April 17-19.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Reagan Underwood/Club Sports Video & Media Intern