The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball wrapped up its trip to the Tar Heel state on Saturday, as the Chargers lost twice at the NCCAA National Invitational to two scholarship programs. The Chargers dropped their opening match to NAIA foe Campbellsville (Ky.), 3-1, and then lost to NCAA Division II opponent Erskine (S.C.), 3-0 in the Third Place Match of the tournament.
 
Lancaster Bible is now 1-2 this season, and earned a fourth place finish in its first-ever appearance at the NCCAA National Invitational.
 
Campbellsville (Ky.) 3, Lancaster Bible 1
28-30, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22
 
How it Happened: The Tigers led 5-4 early in the first set, but the Chargers won six of seven points to grab a 10-6 lead. Campbellsville battled back and eventually led 17-15, but a block assist by Lancaster Bible's Hunter Davis and Elijah Herb cut the Chargers' deficit to one at 20-19 just a few points later. The Tigers took a 24-22 lead moments later, but Lancaster Bible fought off two set points, and tied the set at 24-24 on a kill from Reuben Kemrer. Campbellsville fought off three set points of its own, but with the score knotted at 28-28, Lancaster Bible got back-to-back kills from Herb and Davis to win the set, 30-28.
 
The second frame went back and forth, but with the set tied at 16-16, the Tigers won nine of the final 12 points to tie the match at 1-1. Campbellsville led wire to wire in the third set, as they took the frame, 25-17.
 
Lancaster Bible led early in the fourth set, and expanded its lead to 11-8 on a kill from Caleb Roberts midway through the frame. The teams exchanged points through the middle of the set, as Lancaster Bible took an 18-17 advantage after a Campbellsville service error. The Tigers won the next five points however, and though Lancaster Bible made a late run, the Tigers won the set, 25-22 on a kill from Ramon Matos.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had 36 kills and 19 errors on 124 attempts for a .137 hitting percentage, while the Tigers had 62 kills and 16 errors on 136 attempts for a .338 attack percentage…Each team had six service aces, while Campbellsville held a 61-50 edge in digs…Elijah Herb led the Chargers with 15 kills, and also added three aces and seven digs…Daniel Keene also had double digit kills with 11 kills and just two errors…Roberts added four kills, while Kemrer had 30 assists to go with six digs…Tanner Shertzer led Lancaster Bible with 17 digs, while Kyran Flahive had 10 digs and three aces.
 
News & Notes: This was the first-ever matchup between the two schools…The neutral site loss snapped a 13-match winning streak for the Chargers, and marks their first loss in a neutral site game in over two years…Campbellsville improved to 4-2 overall with the victory…The match marked the first time in Herb's collegiate career he has had double-digit kills.
 
Erskine (S.C.) 3, Lancaster Bible 0
25-19, 25-15, 25-17
 
How it Happened: In a battle of Brubakers, Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jade Brubaker faced off against his brother Justin Brubaker's team, as the Chargers earned a fourth place finish at the NCCAA National Invitational. Erskine led early in the first set, but two straight kills from Hunter Davis and Elijah Herb cut the Chargers' deficit to 11-10. Erskine regained control of the set by winning five of six points, but Lancaster Bible again trimmed its deficit to just three on two separate occasions, but couldn't complete the comeback and dropped the first set, 25-19.
 
Erskine led wire-to-wire in the second and third sets, as they jumped on the Chargers in both sets. Lancaster Bible put a run together in each set, but couldn't muster enough to defeat the NCAA Division II opponent.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had 26 kills and 21 errors on 87 attempts for a .057 attack percentage, while Erskine had 37 kills and 10 errors on 77 attempts for a .351 hitting percentage…Erskine held a 9-1 edge in service aces, and a 32-25 advantage in digs…Hunter Davis and Kyran Flahive each had seven kills to pace the Chargers, while Elijah Herb had six kills…Daniel Keene added four kills, while Tanner Shertzer had 10 digs…Reuben Kemrer had 22 assists and five digs.
 
News & Notes: This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools…These teams have scrimmaged before to begin the season, but this was the first official meeting...Following the tournament, Reuben Kemrer was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible's next scheduled match is Saturday, Feb. 6 at Geneva…The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.