Liberty junior setter Josh Culpepper made 36 assists in three pool play matches before tweaking a lower-body injury in a three-game loss to the University of Virginia. (Photos by Ryan Anderson)
Men’s volleyball edged by UVA in pool play, swept by NC State in quarterfinals of ECVA South playoffs
3/29/2025 10:46:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
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Liberty's Division II team finished 4-2 and secured a third and final bid to next Saturday's East Coast Championships at the University of Maryland.
Liberty University's Division I men's volleyball team, the No. 4 team in the nation in the most recent NCVF rankings, was eliminated in the quarterfinals of Saturday's ECVA South Championships at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
The Flames must wait for an at-large bid into next Saturday's East Coast Championships at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., or sit out that event, which help determine seedings for the April 17-19 NCVF Championships at the Phoenix Convention Center.
"(NCVF) Nationals is still in the picture, as we are still ranked nationally," Liberty Head Coach Josh Knapp said. "We are still making small adjustments with players in and out with injury and are planning to move forward through the adversity."
The Flames swept George Mason, 25-20, 25-22, and Coastal Carolina, 25-18, 25-13, before falling to the University of Virginia 26-24, 20-25, 16-14 to finish 2-1 in pool play. However, junior setter Josh Culpepper tweaked a lower-body injury in that match, and the Flames were swept by No. 16-ranked North Carolina State, 25-19, 25-21 and ousted from the playoffs in the quarterfinal round.
Sophomore outside hitter Anthony Bernardo spiked a team-high 26 kills and added nine digs while sophomore middle blocker Austin Leach contributed 14 kills and a team-high four blocks, and junior Zach Lamoureux, who shifts between outside and middle, spiked 13 kills.
Meanwhile, freshman utility player Wyatt Colestock added 11 kills, and sophomore opposite hitter Josh Davis and senior middle blocker Jayden Rice each spiked eight. Freshman setter Isaac Oden distributed 49 assists and served a team-high six aces, complementing Culpepper's 39 assists, while sophomore libero John Kinzler made a team-high 25 digs.
Meanwhile, the Flames' Division II team, which was not mentioned in the NCVF rankings after starting the semester at the No. 25 spot, finished 2-1 in pool play and 2-1 in the playoffs, winning a third-place seeding match over UNC Charlotte in three games to secure a bid to the East Coast Championships.
The Flames defeated Emory & Henry, 25-18, 25-19, and JMU, 25-18, 23-25, 15-13, before falling to Virginia Tech's B team, 25-18, 25-20. They opened the playoffs with a 25-16, 18-25, 15-12 victory over Wake Forest before falling in the semifinals to Virginia Tech's C team, 18-25, 25-17, 15-12, and rebounding to edge UNCC 25-19, 19-25, 15-9.
Sophomore libero John Kinzler makes a dig in a Feb. 3 match against Virginia Tech at the Liberty Arena.
