Flames men’s volleyball upsets UCLA in first round of nationals

Liberty University’s men’s volleyball team upset No. 17-seeded University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 25-17, 25-23 in the first round of pool play in the Division I-A bracket of this week’s NCVF Championships in Reno, Nev. This is the first time Liberty’s team, which was ranked No. 41 going into the tournament, has been ranked and competed in Division I-A.

The Flames, a Club Sports program competing in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, have competed for more than 20 years.

“There’s a great history in volleyball there (at UCLA) and I think we may have caught them by surprise, but we outplayed them and we were definitely the better team,” said Liberty Head Coach Bryan Rigg, who on Wednesday was named the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation’s Coach of the Year. “In the middle of the second game, we were down 19-13. We took a timeout and the guys got back in the game and ended up blocking about half of the final (12) points,”

• For complete coverage of the Flames’ run at the NCVF Championships, visit Liberty’s Club Sports website.