Liberty rebounded from a three-game opening loss to UC-Irvine on Thursday to dominate Purdue and survive and advance past Northeastern to win its pool.
Liberty University's Division I and III men's volleyball teams opened pool play in the NCVF Championships at the Phoenix Convention Center on Thursday afternoon, with both teams competing in separate 48-team brackets that run through Saturday night.
The Flames' Division I team, ranked No. 19 in the latest national poll but seeded 23rd in the tournament and second in its pool, lost its opener to UC-Irvine in three games, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12. Then, Liberty stepped up its game and spiked Purdue 25-9, 25-21 in the second round of pool play before overcoming Northeastern by rallying past the Huskies, 21-25, 28-26, 15-12.
"The team has been rallying together, and it shows from taking first in our pool (featuring) very competitive teams in the first round," Flames Head Coach Josh Knapp said. "(But) it's more than just this team out here playing the sport of volleyball and finding success. It's being lights on the court and keeping the focus on Who we are playing for. We are out here to represent Liberty University, the program, and Club Sports, but more importantly our faith and God."
The Flames held a Bible study, led by senior middle blocker Jayden Rice, in the Phoenix Convention Center lobby on Good Friday morning.
"This team has found their 'Why?' and are playing together, fighting for one another, and keeping each other centered on God," Knapp said. "The success is from this team being accountable to each other and playing on the court as one team all connecting through something greater. Our success is not our own, but God's, and we are blessed to play over Easter Weekend and let His light shine through us."
Liberty's DIII team, meanwhile, dropped three tight battles in its pool play on Thursday, falling to Ohio State, which finished 3-0 in its pool, 25-23, 25-17 before dropping a three-game match to UC-Irvine, 21-25, 25-12, 25-11, and being swept by Colorado State, 25-23, 29-27.
Both teams will play crossover matches on Friday, with the DI squad's showdown against Georgia Tech — a 25-23, 18-25, 15-12 winner over Oregon in its challenge match — set for 1:30 p.m. EST streamed live on a pay-per-view basis on the NCVF website, followed by a 3:30 p.m. EST match against Texas A&M. The Flames' DIII team's duel against the loser of this afternoon's match between Utah State and Texas A&M is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST, before the Flames face the University of Washington at 6:30 p.m., with both matches also streamed live.
Liberty's DI and DIII teams will advance to either the 16-team gold, silver, or bronze brackets of Saturday's playoffs based on their combined pool play and crossover match results.
Liberty sophomore libero John Kinzler and his teammates huddle up at a final practice held at Liberty before flying to Phoenix this week.
