BUENA VISTA, Va. — The Southern Virginia University men's volleyball team took down the No. 7 Dominican (IL) University in a five-set thriller Tuesday night 29-31, 29-27, 23-25, 25-16, 15-10.

Nahuel Recabarren shined in the match with 20 kills on 46 total attempts earning him the .326 hitting average. Paul Clark followed closely with 15 kills on 32 total attempts to lock in the .312 hitting average. Sam Candland earned his first start of the season and impressed with 13 kills on 25 total attempts while securing the .280 hitting average. Kaipo Tagaloa dished out a season-high 53 assists while recording a game-high 18 digs. Curtis Stone dominated at the net with four blocks followed by McKay Walker, who tallied three.

After Dominican (12-2, 4-0) established an early 13-9 lead in the first set, Samuel Candland sparked a 9-4 run to jump to an 18-17 lead. Following an exchange of points, the Stars found themselves with set point 24-23, but two Clark kills forced extra points. Dominican used three consecutive points after being down 28-29 to take the first set 31-29 and the early 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two followed the same script of the first with both teams going back and forth for the duration of the set. The Knights managed to secure the set win with a kill from S. Candland and an attacking error from Dominican. Southern Virginia outhit the stars .419 to .179 in the second while Clark led all players with five kills.

The Knights found themselves down 7-4 early in the third set before using a 10-4 run led by three S. Candland kills to make the new score 14-11 in favor of Southern Virginia. The Stars closed out the third set outscoring the Knights 14-9 to hold on to the 2-1 advantage in the match. S. Candland led the team with four kills in the third set while Dominican outhit Southern Virginia .536 to .320.

Southern Virginia established a dominant 15-9 lead midway through the set led by Recabarren's three kills. Following a Dominican kill, Southern Virginia used a 6-3 run to make the new score 21-12. Each team scored four points apiece to close out the scoring in the third with the Knights taking the fourth set 25-16 and forced a fifth set. Southern Virginia had its best set in the fourth outhitting the Stars .364 to -.038.

Beginning the fifth set, the Knights jumped out to a 3-1 lead with kills from Candland and Recabarren. After exchanging points with the new score tied 7-7, Southern Virginia used a 6-1 run and capitalized on four Dominican errors to jump to a 13-8 lead. Both teams closed the game outscoring two points each, and the Knights again capitalized on two Star errors to lock in the victory over the No. 7 team in the nation.

Southern Virginia continues its season taking on No. 5 Stevens in Knight Arena on Saturday, Mar. 14. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.