The Lancaster Bible College Men's Volleyball team hosted their final tri-match of the season on Saturday as they defeated Eastern 3-2 in a five-set match and fell in four sets to #9 Southern Virginia 3-1. The Chargers move to 8-9 overall and 1-0 in the United East while the Eagles drop to 9-11 overall and 1-1 in the MAC and the Knights improve to 16-2 overall and 1-0 in the CVC.
 
vs Eastern – 3-2 Win (20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-11)
 
How it Happened:
Eastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead before three straight kills by Braden Escover (Fr.) tied it up quickly, then after a 6-6 tie the teams traded the next seven points with two kills by Devin Galloway (Jr.). The Chargers powered ahead by two with two kills by Kevin Bryant (Jr.), then Eastern won six of the next eight points to pull ahead by two. The Eagles separated late with the final three points to take set one 25-20.
 
Carson Hoover (Jr.) started set two with a kill before Eastern got out to a 4-2 lead, then the Chargers came back to lead by one at 7-6. The Eagles got back on top 12-10 before Escover later tied it at 13-all on a kill, seeing 12 total tie scores during the set. Eastern used a three-point run to swing ahead, holding onto that lead as they clinched the second set 25-22 and took a 2-0 match lead.
 
The Chargers opened up to a 3-1 lead after a service ace from Timothy Fletcher (So.) early on, but Eastern then won six of seven to swing back in front by three points. An Escover kill pulled LBC within one before another run of three from the Eagles for their largest lead of the set at five, then after a kill from Hoover to cap three straight by the Chargers, Eastern answered with three more. Trailing by five late, the Chargers took seven of the next nine points, including three straight kills by Bryant to ignite the crowd and tie the set at 21-21. Staying hot, the Chargers closed on a four-point run including an ace by Bryant to take set three 25-22 and keep the Chargers alive.
 
The Chargers started set four with a service ace by Gabe Dressler (Fr.), then a block by Bryant and Fletcher made it a 4-1 start. Eastern came back to tie the set at 8-8, but Galloway sparked a run with a kill for a three-point LBC lead. The teams then alternated the next nine points before a big four-point burst by the Chargers, featuring two kills from Hoover for a 20-14 advantage. Another quick three for the Chargers helped put away set four 25-18 as Zeke Clark (Jr.) landed the last kill to force a decisive fifth set.
 
Eastern grabbed the early lead in set five at 3-1, but a few points later the Chargers knocked three in a row on three straight kills by Bryant for the lead, then a pair of Eagle errors gave LBC a two-point lead at 8-6. The Eagles then tied the set at nine apiece, but the Chargers took control with a four-point run on three kills by Hoover to separate with a 13-9 lead. Galloway landed the final two blows for the Chargers as they completed the reverse-sweep with a 15-11 set win and a 3-2 match victory at home.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers dominated with a season-high 66 kills to the Eagles' 46 while the Eagles won the blocks battle 10-3
- Kevin Bryant led the Chargers with a career-high 16 kills on .483 hitting with three blocks
- Braden Escover added 15 kills and Carson Hoover had 14 kills and 12 digs
- Timothy Fletcher set a new career-high with 51 assists with 10 digs as well
- Nicholas Marion (Sr.) notched a team-high 16 digs
- The Eagles were led by Connor Tucholski with 12 kills and Symir Byrd with a match-high 20 digs

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vs #9 Southern Virginia – 1-3 Loss (25-23, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20)
 
How it Happened:
The Chargers grabbed the early lead in set one after a service ace by Zeke Clark made it 3-1, then the Knights swung ahead by one before a four-point LBC run gave the Chargers an 8-5 advantage after back-to-back service aces by Kevin Bryant. Timothy Fletcher also landed an ace en route to an 11-6 lead, then the teams traded the next eight points before a run of three by LBC including a block by Bryant and Fletcher to force a SVU timeout. The Knights responded with five straight points to pull within two, but the Chargers answered with four of their own, sparked by a solo block by Fletcher. The Knights closed in on LBC late with another run of four and then fended off two set points, but an error on the serve sealed the 25-23 set victory for the Chargers.
 
The Chargers and Knights were tied on the first six volleys of set two before a three-point run from the Knights game them an 8-6 lead, then later the Chargers tied the set up at 11-11. Southern Virginia later went on a 5-1 run to create some separation, but the Chargers fought back to within two at 20-18 after a kill by Braden Escover. The Knights closed fast with five of the final six points as they took set two 25-19 and tied the match at 1-1.
 
A pair of early kills by Escover helped lead to four early tie scores, then the Knights exploded for a run of six points to take a 10-4 advantage. Southern Virginia maintained a steep lead for most of the set despite late kills by Clark and Escover, closing out the set 25-17 to go ahead 2-1 in the match.
 
The Knights took the early lead in set four before the Chargers took the lead at 9-8, then after falling behind managed to tie it up at 11 on a block by Bryant and Escover. However, the Knights were able to hang onto their lead from there as they won five of the next six points to grab a four-point edge. Kills from Escover and Carson Hoover helped bring the Chargers within two late at 21-19, but winning four of the final five points sealed the set 25-20 for SVU and the 3-1 victory on the road for the defending national champions.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Knights dominated the kills battle 56-32 while the Chargers held a slight edge in blocks 6-5
- Braden Escover landed a team-high 11 kills to lead the Chargers
- Carson Hoover added nine kills with eight digs
- Kevin Bryant had four kills with two service aces and two blocks
- Timothy Fletcher tallied 29 assists
- The Knights were led by Brady Dastrup with a match-high 18 kills and 11 digs for a double-double
 
Information to Know:
The Chargers improve to 4-0 all-time against Eastern while falling to 2-12 all-time against Southern Virginia. This was the first match against the Knights that the Chargers took a set since 2022 after nine straight 3-0 losses. The Chargers are now 2-2 in five-set matches this season, winning both at home while losing both on the road. The Chargers' 66 kills against Eastern are the most in a single match since January 15, 2025 against Misericordia and is tied for the fourth-most in a single match in program history.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers remain finish their six-game homestand on Tuesday, March 3 as they host Wilson in United East action at 7:00 p.m.