ASHLAND, Va. – The Southern Virginia University Men's Volleyball team (4-1, 0-1) split matches at the Macon Invitational this weekend, defeating Cal Lutheran University (6-5) on Friday night but falling to conference foe Randolph-Macon College (6-3, 1-0) Saturday afternoon.
In the opening contest, Southern Virginia faced a tough Cal Lutheran team who made the cross-country trip to participate in the tournament. After dropping their first set of the young season, the Knights grabbed control of the match by winning the next two sets.
The fourth set was tightly contested from the get-go, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage until the Kingsmen took a 21-17 lead following three consecutive points. The Knights would claw their way back into contention, scoring three of the next four points to cut the deficit to two. A questionable call awarded Cal Lutheran its 23rd point of the set after the officials called a block despite the Southern Virginia players assuring that the ball went straight into the net. However, the Knights would not go down easily, again grabbing three of the next four points to make it a one-point game, denying the Kingsmen two set-point opportunities. The third time proved the charm for Cal Lutheran, who closed out the set with a Logan Marks kill to force a fifth and final set.
Southern Virginia grabbed hold of the fifth set early, using a 4-0 run to take a 6-3 lead. Cal Lutheran, however, would battle back, with back-to-back service errors by
Jayton Hall and
Curtis Stone cutting the deficit to just one. The Knights would then score six of the next seven points to secure the hard-fought triumph.
The match was dominated by the Sheaffer brothers, Christian and Tyler, who both had their best performances in a Knight uniform. Christian doubled his previous career-high of 14 kills earlier this year with a match-high 28. The sophomore outside hit .412, tallied two service aces, and had seven digs. His older brother, Tyler, also registered new career highs in both assists with 52 and total blocks with six.
The second and final match of the invitational took place Saturday afternoon against Continental Volleyball Conference foe and tournament hosts Randolph-Macon.
The home team began the match with five straight points, including two service aces by Kody Rogan. After going down 13-3, the Knights clawed their way back into the game, scoring 11 of the next 16 points to cut the deficit to four. The Yellow Jackets would then go on a run of their own to retake control of the set. An Ian Wagenhauser kill would close out the set for Randolph-Macon, 25-16.
For most of the second set, the teams traded points until a 5-0 run by the Yellow Jackets gave them a 21-17 advantage. The Knights would then grab five of the next six points to tie the score at 22. Two service errors by Southern Virginia would award Randolph-Macon the second set and a 2-0 lead.
A 5-0 run near the end of the third set would give the Yellow Jackets a 22-16 lead that would prove too much to overcome for the Knights, giving them their first loss of the 2023 campaign.
Southern Virginia was led by
Kristo Bianchin and
Jayton Hall, who both tallied seven kills in the match.
The Knights will now take on Virginia Tech in an exhibition match on Thursday, Feb. 9, with the game set to begin at 7 p.m.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's volleyball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightmvolleyball on Instagram.
