HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Following back-to-back 3-1 Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) victories over the weekend, the Southern Virginia University Men's Volleyball team improved to 6-1 on the campaign.

On Friday night, the Knights faced off against the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College (6-6, 0-2). After dropping the first set, Southern Virginia would go on to win the next three to seal its first CVC triumph of the year.

Set one was a thriller, with the teams going back and forth throughout the set. A 5-2 run by the Knights gave the team a 15-11 lead. Following two consecutive points by Elizabethtown, Southern Virginia would grab five of the next six points to take control of the set. The home team would battle back, scoring eight of the game's next nine points to take the lead. The Blue Jays would withstand two set points by the Knights and score three straight points to take the first set.

Set number two was also a back-and-forth affair, with the teams battling throughout the entirety of the set. Following three consecutive points by Elizabethtown, Southern Virginia would go on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 14. After the Blue Jays tied the game at 21, the Knights tallied four of the next five points to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Knights grabbed control of the third set early, using a 6-0 run to take a 15-8 lead. Elizabethtown would score two of the next three points, but Southern Virginia went on an 8-0 run to take a 24-10 lead. A service error by the Blue Jays would award the third set to the Knights, giving them a 2-1 advantage.

Like the previous set, Southern Virginia would use several runs to create a 17-10 advantage. Christian Sheaffer would record three of the Knight's final four kills and close the game with a service ace.

Southern Virginia dominated in kills, registering 54 compared to Elizabethtown's 28. Christian Sheaffer led all players with an impressive 25. Tyler Sheaffer also played outstanding, tallying 43 assists.

"I felt like the Elizabethtown game was a warm up game for us," stated Christian Sheaffer. "We finished business as quick as we could, and right after the game was over, all of our minds were set on Juniata. We did a lot better job of getting the rest we needed and we were ready to win."

Following the victory, the Knights traveled to Huntingdon to take on No. 1 Juniata College (13-1, 1-1) in the Eagle Invite.

Southern Virginia scored six of eight points after falling behind 3-1 to take a 10-6 lead. A 5-0 run would increase the Knight's advantage to eight, 19-11. A kill by setter Tyler Sheaffer gave the team a one-set advantage.

The home team would come back in the second set, taking control early on. Southern Virginia closed the gap to two following a 4-0 run to make the score 17-15. However, the Knights were never able to cut the deficit to less than two, and the Eagles would take the second set to even the match.

The third set was a back-and-forth affair until Southern Virginia scored six of seven points to take a 21-15 lead. The Eagles did their best to battle back, but the Knights would close out the set with a Christian Sheaffer block to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The fourth and final set was exhilarating from start to finish. Southern Virginia started hot, scoring seven of the first 10 points. However, Juniata would not go down without a fight, clawing back from a five-point deficit to tie the game at 23. The teams traded points, with neither able to make the most of chances to take the set. Finally, on the Knight's fifth match point opportunity, three players would combine to shut down Maxwell Barr to seal the victory over the country's number one ranked team.

The Knights had three players tally double-digit kills, with Christian Sheaffer leading the pack with a game-high 18. Kyler Evans had his best performance of the season, recording 10 kills, four blocks and three services aces—all season highs. Jeremy Brown registered 12 kills for the second consecutive contest to close out a solid weekend.

When asked what this triumph shows about the team, Christian said, "it's going to be a shock for all of DIII, and they now see that we are a good team. Of course, we have more things to work on, but if we continue to play as a team with the same fire and drive to win, teams will struggle against us."

"It means a ton to take down the number one team in the nation because it doesn't happen that often," added Tyler. "So when it happens, it's special, and it grabs the attention of everyone. We came in as a team that wasn't confident with our abilities from our loss to Randolph Macon. We found our confidence today with how we played. We have always rivaled Juniata in the past, and that rivalry stays the same this year. We tend to play our best against them, regardless of how high they are ranked."

Southern Virginia will take on another ranked team on Friday, Feb. 24, when they take on No. 7 Messiah in Harrisonburg, Va. "We need to play every opponent as if they are the number one team in the nation," expressed Tyler. "There are still a lot of very good teams out there, and any of them can be number one. So we need to keep this confidence when we play other top 10 teams. This win shows how intense and strong we can be, but we also know how low we can be as a team from our loss. So we need to work to build off this win and focus on being even better than we were today. If we can keep working hard, stay humble, and respect the team's skills across the net, then we have a strong shot at winning."

"We wanted this game, and it showed," continued Christian. "We came prepared to play, and although we could have executed better, we worked hard and got the win. This win gives us a ton of confidence, but like we've been saying to each other, anyone can beat anyone. So we need to stay on a high and keep grinding!"

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