The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball team traveled to Palos Heights, Illinois to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Invitational hosted by Trinity Christian College. The Chargers ended up finishing the opening day of pool play with one win, a 3-0 sweep of Maranatha Baptist, and one loss, a tough 3-2 contest versus Olivet Nazarene. The Chargers now move to 3-2 overall with two more games left to play on Saturday.
 
Chargers Sweep Sabercats | 3–0 [25-10; 25-12; 25-7]
 
The Chargers got out to an early 15-3 lead in the first set and didn't look back as freshman Jake Rotelle notched three service aces and senior Hunter Davis added a kill to spark an 8-0 run for the Chargers. The Chargers went on to finish the first set of tournament 25-10 thanks to one of a game-high nine kills from Rotelle. Entering the second set, the Sabercats put up a fight early, trading points with the Chargers, but a 12-2 run from the Chargers including kills from Ben Latham, Christian Herr, Dawson Forney, Davis, and Rotelle completed the second set 25-12. Entering the third set, the Chargers put together their best set of the match, finishing the sweep with a 25-7 victory.
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers tallied 34 kills along with 18 service aces and 16 digs… The Sabercats had 9 kills and 3 blocks… freshman Jake Rotelle had himself a career day with nine kills, five service aces, and two digs… Hunter Davis added six kills and two blocks… Christian Herr dished out 28 assists and four aces… Senior Tanner Shertzer had five digs and four service aces… Jacob Valeria led the Sabercats with four kills.
 
Information to Know: This is just the second time in school history the two programs have competed against each other… the first matchup happened back in March of 2018 when the Chargers swept the Sabercats here at the Horst Athletic Center.

---

 
Chargers Rally Falls Short | 2-3 [25-27; 20-25; 25-17; 25-21; 11-15]
 
Christian Herr and Elijah Herb each had kills in the opening set, but the Tigers jumped out to an early 8-3 lead. ONU led by as much as seven early, but kills from Herb and Dawson Forney kept the Chargers within striking distance. Olivet Nazarene reached set point up 24-21, forcing an LBC timeout, but a block by Herr and Hunter Davis capped a three-point run to send the set to extra points. Forney added another to his five first-set kills, but the Tigers pulled away to win set one, 27-25.

Herr and DJ Omogrosso opened set two with a combined block, but ONU responded with a six-point run to take an early lead. Herb and Forney continued to hit strongly with several kills throughout the set, but the Chargers continued to trail by about five points for most of the set. Kills from Herb and freshman Craig Patrick brought them within four, but the Tigers finished off set two 25-20 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

Set three began with a Ben Latham service ace for the Chargers and a Forney kill to put the Chargers up 2-1. Davis, Omogrosso and Herb each had kills later in the set to help LBC ride an 10-3 run that helped the Chargers pull ahead 20-15 in an attempt to pull away. The senior duo of Herb and Davis combined for a block followed by a Tiger error that gave LBC a 25-17 set three win and a fighting chance in the match.

The Chargers started set four with a powerful 6-1 advantage fueled by a Tanner Shertzer service ace and a kill from Forney. Olivet Nazarene didn't stay down long, fighting back to tie the set at nine all and power to a 13-9 lead. Herr continued to be effective on the set, finding Herb and Davis to tie the game once again at 15-15 apiece. A kill from freshman Jake Rotelle capped a 6-1 spurt from Lancaster Bible to lengthen the lead to three points, but several service errors from both teams kept the set close. With a 24-21 lead, Latham put the set away with a service ace to end set four with a Charger win and send the match to a deciding fifth match.
 
The teams traded points early in the fifth set, with neither team leading by more than two in the early going. The Tigers began to pull away as they built a four-point cushion, but a kill from Omogrosso brought it back to three. A Forney kill and a Latham ace brought the Chargers within one, but Olivet Nazarene was able to pull away and take the set 15-11 and ultimately win the five-set match 3-2.

By the Numbers
- Dawson Forney led the Chargers with 19 kills and five digs
- Elijah Herb also knocked 19 kills, adding nine digs and an ace
- Freshman setter Christian Herr fueled the offense, dishing 47 assists
- Hunter Davis highlighted the defense with five blocks
- Ben Latham led all players with four service aces
- The Chargers held the advantage in kills (53-50) and service aces (7-3)
 
Information to Know: This was the first ever matchup between the two programs, meeting at a neutral site in tournament play. The Chargers are now 1-2 in matches away from their home floor in 2023 and 1-1 in neutral site games. Sophomore Dawson Forney set a career-high with 19 kills, and Christian Herr's 47 assists are a new career-high as well as the most in a single match since March 23, 2021 when teammate Tanner Shertzer had the same number.
 
Up Next: Be sure to check back soon as the game times and opponents are still yet to be determined for tomorrow in bracket play.