Men’s volleyball vs. UVA
After a dominant win in its first set against the Virginia Cavaliers, the Flames men’s volleyball team dropped its next three sets in a disappointing 3-1 loss Feb. 16.
Liberty entered the match Thursday coming off a 6-0 tournament victory at JMU the week prior, and the Flames attempted to ride that momentum to a 25-14 win in the first frame of action. A handful of blocks in the end of the set put Liberty in front.
“In the first match, we came out strong and played with that fire behind us,” Head Coach Joshua Knapp said.
The strength of the team was at the net, where the Flames combined for 15 kills in the opening frame.
Between the first two sets, Liberty appeared well on its way to a big win. The Cavaliers, however, who came to Lynchburg with no coaching staff, were forced to band together to give themselves a chance at a comeback.
UVA took a step in the right direction in the second set. The action went back and forth throughout the early part of the set, but a Liberty serve into the net shifted momentum in favor of the Cavaliers, who would not trail again in the second frame, squeaking out a tough 25-23 win to tie the match.
“At the start of the second set, we started to play a little bit down. It kind of made UVA find their footing and pressure our team a little bit more,” Knapp said. “We changed our system a little bit and tried to pressure them from the service line.”
The third set looked like a fresh start for the Flames, as they jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. Once again, a serve into the net derailed Liberty’s progress. The Cavaliers battled back, forcing ties at 11, 19 and 20. Virginia would score the next four points and ultimately win the set 25-23.
The fourth and final match was a hard fought battle throughout. An early power struggle led to several lead changes before the Cavaliers sprinted out to a 9-5 lead. Liberty would claw back and regain the lead at 14-13 thanks to a spike from sophomore Jared Vasquez.
The next 10 points would see several ties before UVA took a 20-19 lead. The Flames brought the score within a point, but they never led again.
Despite the loss, there were several good individual performances. Senior center Chase Keith totaled 30 assists, and junior libero Mason Ellenberger had 23 digs. Another standout was graduate Cross Edwards, whose 15 kills were a bright spot on an otherwise forgettable night.
“(Cross) has been a big option for us in the back row and as an attacker as well,” Knapp said.
Edwards is happy to contribute for his team but knows that there is still room for improvement.
“Execution on the first ball slide outs is what hurt our team the most,” Edwards said. “Overall, our middles were firing, our centers were doing well, but there’s just a couple things we need to work on in practice.”
Practice will only help this young team. It has shown flashes of excellence this season, but Knapp believes a focus on finding team chemistry will help propel the Flames to the next level. The players seem to share the same sentiment.
“We have all the pieces here, it’s just about putting them all together right now,” Edwards said. “We can do well, we can actually execute, we proved it last weekend. Now it’s a matter of just doing it.”
Edwards and the Flames will have a chance to piece together another win on March 4 when they host the NC State Wolfpack in a “Midnight Mayhem” matchup.
Wheeler is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter