Liberty University Club Sports
Erskine Beach Volleyball Tournament
Men’s beach volleyball splits four dual matches at season-opening tournament in South Carolina
9/18/2025 6:31:00 PM | Men's Beach Volleyball
Host Erskine, an NCAA Division I program, was the overall champion of the Sept. 5-6 event while the Flames went 2-2 and finished third.
Liberty University's men's beach volleyball team opened its fall season and by traveling to Erskine (S.C.) University in Due West, S.C. for a Sept. 5-6 round-robin tournament in which it experimented with different pairings and experienced mixed results.
The Flames swept Wingate (N.C.) University twice by 5-0 finals and lost to host Erskine, an NCAA Division I program, 5-0, and Stevenson (Md.) University, which competes at the NCAA Division II level, 3-2.
Our top two teams did really well for being new to those pairings, Liberty Head Coach Josh Knapp said, referring to sophomore Nathan Knickerbocker teaming with junior Colton Fitzgerald playing at No. 1 and junior Anthony Bernardo pairing up with Braddock Ryan, a freshman from Lynchburg, Va., at No. 2. Nathan is coming back from a shoulder injury and he and Colt have not played too much together, but I really liked the connection I saw from them. Anthony has been really dedicated to his training over the summer, and I have been really encouraged to see that pairing work out with (Bernardo's) intention and focus and energy and focus from Braddock.
He said Ryan brings plenty of high-level beach and grass playing experience in as a freshman.
Braddock has really great skill on the outside of the game, and both (his and Bernardo's) skill sets complement each other well, Knapp said. I am excited to see that grow as they get comfortable playing together over the next two months.
After losing their opening match to Erskine's top pair, 23-21, 18-21, 15-9, Knickerbocker and Fitzgerald won their final three matches of the tournament, narrowly beating Stevenson's No. 1 duo, 19-21, 21-9, 15-13 before sweeping Wingate in their rematch, 21-13, 21-8.
Besides Bernardo and Ryan, Liberty's next two pairs — senior Jackson Stough and sophomore Joel Bruff at No. 3 and junior John Kinzler and sophomore Wyatt Colestock at No. 4 — finished 2-2 in the tournament with both of their wins posted against tandems from Wingate.
Liberty's No. 5 combination of junior Andrew Milo and senior Eustace Coker finished 3-1, bouncing back from a 21-13, 23-21 setback against Erskine to win their three matches against Stevenson and Wingate in straight sets.
Senior Evan Duncan and sophomore Liam Reinmuth played exhibition matches as the No. 6 pair. Knapp noted junior Josh Davis could also work his way into the rotation in the top five spots in the future.
Knapp was encouraged for the future of the team as it gears up for the Hill City September Swing next Saturday night, Liberty University Beach Tournament on Oct. 3-4, and another at Stevenson Oct. 10-11, their last three evens before the ACVA Beach National Championships from Nov. 7-9 in Huntsville, Ala.
I've definitely seen a change this year with the dedication to the beach side of things, and less overlap between the indoor and outdoor teams, he said. Our athletes seem more dialed in with that skill set when they are able to compete, and I am expecting this season to be a lot more competitive and better prepared for nationals. This group is putting a lot more effort into the sand with that goal in mind.
It is difficult for players to transition back and forth from beach to indoor volleyball in the same season.
Timing and speed are two of the skill sets that don't translate over well from the beach to the indoor game, so having our players focus on their craft does help, with less overlap, to have each of our respective programs be a little more specific on developing their skill sets, Knapp said.
He said the indoor team has finalized its roster and practicing in preparation for two ECVA South preseason tournaments at Liberty on Oct. 18 and Virginia Tech on Oct. 25.
Indoor is still our priority, but we are trying to do the best we can with the beach side of things, Knapp said. We are taking the beach game very seriously as we're trying to grow both programs and see success across the board with all of our athletes.
Knapp is taking Bernardo and Fitzgerald, who played together last spring, to this weekend's USA Volleyball Collegiate Beach Challenge at Stevenson, where they are seeded 13th out of 32 pairs coming from club programs to NCAA Division I teams.
That will be a great event with some really great athletes across the board, including some of top pairs we'll see at nationals, Knapp said. It will give those pairs a premiere platform to compete on this weekend.
Teams will have pool play on Friday before moving into the Gold, Silver, and Bronze division playoffs on Saturday and Sunday.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Players Mentioned
