NEWARK, NJ. — The Southern Virginia University men's volleyball team advanced to their third consecutive CVC Championship Friday night following a 3-1 victory over Juniata College.
The Knights dropped the first set to the Eagles, falling 25-18. The Eagles came out ready to play, hitting .444 in the first set while recording 18 kills on just two errors.
Southern Virginia answered back in the second set, battling to a 33-31 set victory to even the match 1-1. Tanner Durkin evened the set with an impressive ace, setting up Kaipo Tagaloa to dish out an assist to Christian Scheaffer for the kill to end the set.
The Knights kept the momentum rolling into the third and fourth set, locking in the 3-1 win, and advancing to the CVC Championship for the third consecutive year.
Nahuel Recabarren led all players with 25 kills while hitting .447 and recording two blocks and ten digs. Paul Candland impressed with 13 total kills and two service aces, while Kaipo Tagaloa dished out a game-high 50 assists and four digs.
With the victory, the stage is set for a rematch between the No. 1 seed Rutgers-Newark and the No. 2 seed Southern Virginia, where the Scarlet Raiders handed the Knights their lone conference loss two weeks prior in a commanding sweep.
The two teams will meet for the sixth time in the team's history, with Southern Virginia holding onto the 4-1 record between the two.
Rutgers enters the championship game for the third time in school history, with their previous appearance coming back in 2016 with the Scarlet Raiders falling to Stevenson 3-0.
The Raiders will look to Andrew Zaleck, who recorded a game-high 14 kills, three service aces, four digs, and two blocks in the semifinal sweep over Marymount. Zaleck recorded 10 kills on 16 attempts against the Knights and will look to keep his dominant play going in the championship.
Southern Virginia enters the game with numerous weapons in their holster, with three-time All-American Nahuel Recabarren leading the way. Recabarren is flanked by Paul Candland, McKay Walker, Kyler Evans, and Christian Scheaffer, who will all be looked to create scoring opportunities.
Game time on Saturday, April 9, is set for 4 pm.
