Buena Vista, VA - The Southern Virginia men's volleyball team (6-0, 1-0) delivered a commanding performance in their home opener against Illinois Tech on Friday night. The Knights secured the first two sets comfortably and managed to stave off a comeback attempt in the third set, maintaining their undefeated record this season and holding onto the #4 spot in the nation according to this week's AVCA Poll.

CVC Player of the Week, Christian Sheaffer, continued his dominant start with an outstanding 18-kill game. The Knights started strong, with Sheaffer contributing five of the first eight points. Although the Hawks fought back, capitalizing on three service errors, Sheaffer elevated his performance, securing nine kills in the first match to seal the win.

The momentum carried into the second match, with Jeremy Brown and Kristo Bianchin making key contributions, including crucial digs. Tyler Sheaffer provided strong support with a total of 33 assists in the match. The Knights capitalized on the Hawks' four straight attack errors, allowing them to secure the set with kills from Bianchin and Christian Sheaffer.

The final set presented a challenge for the Knights as both teams traded points down the stretch. The tension rose as they took turns leading by just one point, with service errors complicating the situation. Quin Shumway's three-straight kills pushed the lead to 23-20, but Illinois Tech rallied, evening the score at 24 apiece. The Knights secured the victory with a kill from Bianchin and a match-winning block from the Sheaffer brothers, ending the set 26-24.

Christian Sheaffer led the scoring with 21 points, while Brown followed with 10 kills and eight digs, and Kyler Evans tallied four blocks.

The Knights will now hit the road to face Averett University, who are in their inaugural season, on Saturday, February 3rd, with the start time set for 11:00 AM.

For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's volleyball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightmvolleyball on Instagram.