Men’s volleyball upsets No. 3-ranked Virginia Tech to qualify for East Coast Championships

Saturday, February 21

Harrisonburg, VA

TBA

Liberty University Club Sports

James Madison University

Liberty's DI squad went 5-1 and advanced to the March 21 East Coast Championships with a semifinal upset of Virginia Tech while its DII team narrowly missed qualifying after being ousted by the Hokies in the semifinals.

Men’s volleyball upsets No. 3-ranked Virginia Tech to qualify for East Coast Championships

2/22/2026 9:05:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The Flames finished 5-1 at the ECVA South Play Date hosted by JMU to earn one of two autobids to the March 21 tournament at Maryland.

Liberty University men's volleyball team, which slipped one spot to No. 20 in the latest NCVF Division I rankings, upset No. 3 Virginia Tech in the semifinal round of Saturday's ECVA South Play Date at James Madison University.

The 25-21, 26-24 victory over the Hokies, who swept Liberty in a Feb. 3 match at Liberty Arena, qualifies the Flames for the March 21 East Coast Championships at the University of Maryland.

"That is a big deal," Liberty interim Head Coach Bryan Rigg said. "The last two years, we didn't qualify at our play date and had to do it at the ECVA South Championships, which adds a little more pressure. I like to go into those championships with a berth already locked up so we can rest some guys in pool play and not have that weight on their shoulders and their backs against the wall."

The Flames were coming off a solid showing at last weekend's Hoosier-Illini Classic, where they challenged some of the top teams in the Midwest Region and upset eventual tournament winner Wisconsin — the reigning NCVF national champion, currently ranked No. 8 — in pool play.

"At the ECVA South event, the competition wasn't as good, but we did equally well," Rigg said. "That playoff victory against Virginia Tech was probably our best win of the year so far. I am excited about the next rankings, which should have us moving up a little bit."

The Flames started pool play with best-of-three sweeps of host JMU and UNC Charlotte before losing to the University of Virginia, a team it had defeated in three straight games in the Midnight Mayhem match at Liberty Arena to start the regular season.

"We were beating them in both games, but they had one player go on a long serving run," Rigg said. "He aced us a bunch of times and tilted both games in a way that our guys couldn't figure out. That day, in that space, they won the match."

Due to the tournament being behind schedule after pool play, the first round of playoffs was shortened to a single game to 25, with the Flames dominating William & Mary, 25-10.

Liberty swept VCU in a best-of-three quarterfinal rematch of its four-game win in Liberty Arena to advance to the semifinal against the Hokies.

"Both games against Virginia Tech went point for point the whole way out," Rigg said, noting the Flames only fell behind once and built a four-point advantage on a service run by senior setter and team captain Josh Culpepper that included a few aces. "Josh has to play well for anybody else to play well. He often starts a little slower, especially on long tournament days, but usually plays best volleyball at the end of the day."

Senior opposite hitter Zach Lamoureux made a big block that closed out the first game and spiked several kills throughout the match. The second game was tied at 23 and 24 before senior outside hitter Zach Bell served the final two points, including an ace that set up match point.

Junior libero John Kinzler showed consistency on the back row throughout the tournament.

"He played libero all day and didn't come off the court," Rigg said. "He made some really physical hard-work plays," including a few play-saving pancake digs.

There was no championship match due to the late finish. North Carolina State University, which lost to Virginia Tech in pool play, went on to win its semifinal match to earn the other autobid to the East Coast Championships.

The Flames will host the Wolfpack in their last competition at Liberty Arena this Tuesday at 7 p.m. That match was originally scheduled for Jan. 27 but was postponed by a major snowstorm.

The two playoff finalists in both the Division I and Division II brackets at the March 7 ECVA South Championships, hosted by Liberty in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center, will also qualify for the East Coast Championships.

Rigg and Assistant Coach Stephen Patag finalized their rosters for the rest of the season on Friday, bringing sophomore outside hitter Connor Cranage, junior outside hitter Guilherme Moura Quieroz, and senior libero Ryan Austin.

"We played all 12 guys, and had Connor play setter for a game, and it went really well," Rigg said. "We played all three of our middle hitters, (junior) Austin Leach and (freshmen) Ben Bremer and Ian McKee, and all three of our pin hitters, (senior) Zach Bell, (freshman) Jackson Byers, GQ (Quieroz), and Cranage. We played everybody."

"The recipe is to keep them all with fresh legs, and a balance of playing time," he added. "The chemistry between the setter and the middles is not quite where it needs to be yet. Our goal for the next month is to run more balls through the middle."

He said Cranage has been an especially positive addition to the outside hitter rotation.

"He has a really good attitude and tends to push guys harder than they push themselves," Rigg said.

Liberty's Division II squad, which welcomed junior libero Andrew Milo, sophomore opposite hitter Liam Reinmuth, and sophomore outside hitter Wyatt Colestock from the DI lineup, also dropped a pool play match to underdog Old Dominion University.

"We were seeded No 2 at the start of day but ended up facing top-seeded Virginia Tech in the semifinals," Rigg said.

The DII Flames were swept by the Hokies but will have a chance to qualify for the East Coast Championships with a top-two finish at the ECVA South Championships at Liberty.

Rigg said the DI and DII lineups are strategically balanced for both teams to excel throughout the postseason.

"Both teams are great," he said. "They love each other with their off-court camaraderie, and the character of the team is really good, the best I've had the pleasure of coaching. Their chemistry is good, and the two teams statistically are trending in the right direction. I expect the DI team will continue climbing the rankings, and the DII team will be a surprise (at nationals)."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer