Men’s volleyball rallies past unranked Rams in four games

Tuesday, February 10

Lynchburg, VA

7:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Virginia Commonwealth University

Senior opposite hitter Zach Lamoureux spikes over a VCU blocker in Tuesday night's match at Liberty Arena. (Photos by Travis Clayton)

Men’s volleyball rallies past unranked Rams in four games

2/10/2026 10:57:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Photo Gallery

Liberty experimented with a few Division II call-ups who contributed to the team’s turnaround after a slow start.

Gallery: (2-10-2026) Men's volleyball vs. VCU

Liberty University's men's volleyball team approached Tuesday night's match against Virginia Commonwealth University at Liberty Arena as preparation for this weekend's Hoosier-Illini Classic in Bloomington, Ind.

The Flames, ranked No. 19 in the latest NCVF Division I poll, dropped the first game to the unranked Rams before emerging with a 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 triumph to improve to 3-2 for the spring semester.

"I care about winning, but I don't care about losing points in a set," Liberty interim Head Coach Bryan Rigg said. "I care about getting better, so we're trying to figure out how to get better."

Rigg and Assistant Coach Stephen Patag, who serves as head coach of the Flames' DII squad, brought up sophomore outside hitter Connor Cranage — who turned out to be one of Liberty's leaders in kills — as well as sophomore opposite hitter Liam Reinmuth, junior libero Andrew Milo, and junior outside hitter Guilherme Queiroz from the DII team, for the match against the Rams.

"We're trying to figure out if we're going to move them up, so we're giving them a lot of reps," Rigg said, noting the deadline for submitting final rosters to the NCVF is next week.

Liberty used a block by freshman middle hitter Ben Bremer from the right side, a kill by junior outside hitter Nate Bremmer on the left, and an ace by Cranage to get back into the first game before the Flames' comeback bid came up short.

"We had a lot of unforced errors in the first set," Rigg said.

Early in Game 2, junior middle hitter Austin Leach sandwiched kills from the middle around Cranage's first-ball kill from the left side to boost the Flames to an early 6-4 advantage.

A stuff block from the right side by senior opposite hitter Zach Lamoureux kept Liberty up 9-8 and Lamoureux's kill down the right sideline tied it back at 10 before Leach's winner tied it at 12. A diving dig by Milo kept a point alive for the Flames to seize a 13-12 advantage before senior setter Josh Culpepper's stuff block from the right side and second-ball, left-handed kill from the middle stretched it to 15-12 and prompted VCU to use a timeout.

Culpepper's ace on a jump serve kept the Flames ahead 19-17 before his service error gave it back. A kill by VCU's Al Sesay tied it at 19 before a service error put Liberty back on top and a stuff block by Lamoureux and kill by Culpepper on the right side made it 22-20.

Another stuff block by Lamoureux gave the Flames their first game point and, after a third timeout by the Rams, a dink at the left side by freshman outside hitter Jackson Byers tied the match at 1.

A kill by Tayo Orisasona put VCU up 2-1 early in Game 3 before Cranage's spike from the left side and Culpepper's jump serve were not returned, putting the Flames up 4-2.

A back-row kill by Cranage prompted a VCU timeout, trailing 10-8, before three more Cranage kills off assists from Culpepper extended the edge to 15-13 and a cross-court kill by Lamoureux padded the lead to 19-15. Bremmer's cross-court kill from the left side put the Flames up 20-16 before a sharp-angled kill by Cranage forced the Rams to call timeout.

"(Culpepper is) amazing," Cranage said. "He's the best in the country for club. The main thing was just keeping the energy up. That's what I feel I bring the best, along with athleticism. When I get a kill or a block or someone else does the same or we get an ace, just keeping the energy high, cheering."

VCU pulled back within 21-18 on a kill by Orisasona before Cranage's tool down the left sideline made it 22-18 and Culpepper's stuff block from the right side stretched it to 23-19. Freshman middle blocker Ian McKee's one-time kill set up game point before Lamoureux's cross-court kill that deflected off a VCU block clinched Game 3, 25-21.

Bremmer's block from the left side pulled Liberty back within 3-2 in Game 4 and an authoritative kill by Leach drew them back within 5-3. Three kills by Byers over a span of six points pushed Liberty on top 9-7 before a block by Lamoureux at the right side extended the edge to 11-8. Bremer's kill from the middle helped keep the Flames on top 13-10 and Byers kill off a block made it 14-12. A stuff block by Culpepper on the right side forced the Rams to spend a second timeout, trailing 18-12.

A powerful spike by Queiroz boosted Liberty's advantage to 21-14 and a kill by Bremer at the middle forced VCU to take its final timeout, down 23-15. An error by the Rams set up match point, and Queiroz's kill from the right side clinched the four-game triumph.

Rigg believes the Flames will be ready to raise the level of their game to their opposition at this weekend's Hoosier-Illini tournament.

"I'm expecting to be tested, and I think they'll do well," Rigg said. "The Midwest teams are the best in the country. Last year, it was Wisconsin vs. Ohio State in the championship. They should both be there along with Illinois and Indiana. They're all very good teams. I am excited for it."

Virginia Tech, which swept the Flames last Tuesday night at home, also will be in the field.

"We always do well at the Hoosier-Illini," Rigg said, noting Liberty has won the tournament twice and finished in the top three seven of the last eight years. "We travel well."

Last season, the Flames went 4-2 and advanced to the championship final by beating the 2023 NCVF national champion and 2024 runner-up Badgers in the semifinal round before falling to the Buckeyes — who went on to claim the national title — 25-18, 25-18, in the final.

"I'm excited," Cranage said. "We want good competition. We want to challenge ourselves. It makes us better."

"I have high expectations for us," he added. "We have a great mix of tools on the team. We work hard day-in and day-out, and we're a very close group. We can play well if we put our minds to it."
He said the team maintains a high standard of character and positive energy, reflecting the approaches of their coaches.

"It starts every day at practice," Cranage said. "We're intentional with everything that we do, staying close, doing the team dinners, the team Bible studies that we do and just finding lineups that work and being supportive with each other. We're focusing on us and what we do every day. We just need to keep the energy high, outwork (opponents), and focus on what we can do, what we can control."

Next weekend, Liberty will travel to JMU for the final regular-season ECVA South Play Date before the Flames host the ECVA South Championships on March 7. First- or second-place showings at either of those two events will qualify the DI and DII teams for the East Coast Championships at College Park, Md., on March 21. That will be the best opportunity for the Flames to secure higher seedings for the April 2-4 NCVF National Championships in Kansas City.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer