The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball team traveled to the state of Virginia on Saturday to take on the 13^th ranked Knights of Southern Virginia, losing 0-3. The Chargers move to 1-1 overall and suffer their first loss of 2023, while the Knights improve to 2-0 overall.
 
How It Happened: The Chargers started the match strong, jumping to an early 7-4 lead over the Knights following kills from freshman Jake Rotelle and senior Elijah Herb. The Knights strung together a series of attacks in the first set to take the lead, but the Chargers managed to put two more points on the board and tie the game at 16. The Knights once again took the lead, yet the Chargers continued to stay on their heels, keeping the deficit within two to three points. The Knights won the hard-fought set 25-20.
 
Entering the second set, the Chargers looked to get things going early, starting with a strong kill from sophomore Dawson Forney and an attack error from the Knights. The Knights responded to the 2-0 lead rattling off nine unanswered points and placing the Chargers in a large deficit. Despite the run, the Chargers continued to compete, but could not overcome the Knight's attack and lost 25-8.
 
The third and final set of the night was another battle for the Chargers as they looked to steal a match for the night. Another kill from Forney early in the third set brought the Charger deficit within one with the score at 8-9. The Knights then went on a 9-1 run to bring the score to 18-9 in favor of the Knights. The Chargers continued to be persistent responding with a 5-0 run themselves behind several attack errors and a service ace from freshman Ben Latham to bring the score to 19-14. The Knights finished the final set winning 25-19 and giving the Chargers their first loss of the season.
 
From the Coach: "I was encouraged by our fight and effort. Still things we need to improve on to be more consistent. Some lessons learned and hopefully we can keep improving." – Head Coach Jade Brubaker
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers totaled 12 kills and 27 digs for the evening… the Knights tallied 38 kills and 41 digs… the Chargers edged out the Knights in blocks 8-4… Dawson Forney led the Chargers in kills (6), blocks (3), and digs (7)… Christian Herr had nine assists and Ben Latham had two aces… Sheaffer led the Knights with a game high 13 kills, 4 service aces, and 2 blocks.
 
Information to Know: The Chargers sit at 2-4 all-time with the Knights following today's loss… the last win over the Knights was in 2021 when the Chargers swept them at home 3-0.
 
Up Next: The Chargers will be back at the Horst Athletic Center on Tuesday, January 24^th for a matchup with Misericordia which is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.