Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 LANCASTER, Pa. – The Southern Virginia University Men's Volleyball team traveled to Lancaster Bible College for three matches over the weekend, sweeping each opponent to improve to 9-2 on the campaign.

"It was a great weekend for us as a team," Head Coach Tom Peterson stated. "Not dropping a set over a weekend full of games is always nice. It has been a long time since we played three games in a weekend, so I'm impressed with the team's effort and consistency. Also, how we played makes the five-hour trip home much easier with things going so well."

The Knights took on the Banana Slugs of UC – Santa Cruz on Friday night in a ranked matchup. No. 13 Santa Cruz, in its second match of the night, went down early, dropping five straight points after scoring the first point of the match. Southern Virginia didn't let up, continuing to a 13-7 advantage. The Slugs, however, tallied four consecutive points to get back in the game, but the Knights went on a 4-0 run of their own to restore the six-point lead, 18-12. Southern Virginia then registered five of six points to put set one out of reach. Back-to-back service errors by Santa Cruz closed out the set with a 25-17 score.

In set two, the Knights again got out of the gate quickly, securing a 5-1 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Jayton Hall stretched the lead to seven, 13-6. Like the first set, Santa Cruz would claw its way back into the game, registering 10 of the next 12 points to take the lead for the first time in the set. The teams battled back and forth, trading points over the next few minutes of play. The Slugs looked to even the match at one set apiece as they took a 22-20 lead toward the end of the set. However, three consecutive points by Southern Virginia off three attacking errors by the opposition, including a block by Tyler Sheaffer and McKay Walker, saw the team retake the lead and control of the set. After the Banana Slugs tied the set at 23, the Knights scored the last two points off a huge kill from Jeremy Brown and a Christian Sheaffer block.

In the third set Southern Virginia continued the trend of jumping out to an early lead, scoring the set's first four points and seven of the first nine. Holding all the momentum, the Knights took the Slugs out of their game plan, forcing them to their lowest hitting percentage of the match in the third and final set, -.192. Part of the reason behind the poor hitting percentage was the consistent blocking by Southern Virginia, who recorded a season-high 14 blocks.

"I am very proud of the guys for the discipline they displayed on the block tonight," stated Assistant Coach Tayler Bowers. "This was a great start, but there is still room for improvement, and I expect a lot more from the guys as we continue to work hard."

Kristo Bianchin led the charge, recording a season-high eight total blocks—totaling 18 in his last three matches.

Southern Virginia scored eight of the set's final nine points, with the final coming off a Bianchin solo block, to secure its second victory over a ranked team this season.

Jayton Hall led the team in scoring, tallying seven kills and a match-high four aces. The sophomore opposite also excelled in the blocking game, registering a season-high five total blocks, propelling him to a match-and-season-high 13.5 points.

"It's nice to see all the hard work we put in during the week pay off," exclaimed Hall. "This was a team win, and I give all the credit to my teammates. This was a big win, but more big games are coming, and we must be ready."

In game one on Saturday, Southern Virginia took on hosts Lancaster Bible College in a rematch of the Knight's second match of the season.

The first set featured lots of back and forth between the two teams; trading runs for most of the set. Down 19-17, the Knights scored three straight points to be the first team to get to 20 points and take the lead. The Chargers, however, wouldn't go down without a fight, tallying three of the next four points to retake the lead. Southern Virginia, aided by Kyler Evans, who recorded a kill and a block, scored three straight points to put a stranglehold on the set. After a Charger point, Christian Sheaffer's kill secured the first-set victory.

The two teams again went through a hard-fought battle in the second set. After an Elijah Herb kill cut the Charger deficit to one, the Knights scored six straight points to create an 18-11 advantage. Lancaster Bible rallied behind its home crowd to grab the next three points. Southern Virginia proved too much, closing out the set with a score of 25-19 off an Evans kill.

Set three was all Southern Virginia from the get-go, with the visiting team jumping out to an early 7-2 lead. The advantage would stretch throughout the set, reaching 15 as the Knights put game two to bed with a 25-10 win in set three. Again, outstanding hitting led to the big point differential in the final set, with the Knights hitting an excellent .824 with 14 kills on 17 total attempts with zero errors.

Christian Sheaffer and Jeremy Brown notched double-digit kills, with 16 and 12, respectively. Sheaffer also added three aces and a solo block for 20 total points to lead all players.
In the third and final game of the weekend, Southern Virginia challenged undefeated King's College.

The Knights completely controlled the first set, holding the Monarchs to just four kills while tallying 15 themselves. Christian Sheaffer again led the charge with seven in the set, hitting an impressive .875. Bianchin followed closely behind with five kills and a .571 hitting percentage.

King's got back on track in the second set but were still limited to 16 points on eight kills and a .167 hitting percentage. Southern Virginia cooled down a bit in the second, with its hitting percentage dropping to .435. Back-to-back 25-16 wins put the Knights up 2-0.

The third set proved to be much of the same, with Southern Virginia collecting its third straight sweep after a 25-17 victory.

McKay Walker registered seven kills, two blocks, and four digs in his first weekend back. "It felt good to be back," Walker declared. "With one more week to heal and practice, I should be in good shape for our two home matches next weekend."

"It's nice to welcome back McKay Walker, who's been out with an injury," added coach Peterson. "Even though he didn't play a ton, it's nice to know he's with us again, and we can count on him."

Southern Virginia will now prepare for the start of Continental Volleyball Conference play. Next Saturday, Mar. 11, the Knights will play two contests at home. Roanoke College will be the first opponent, with a rematch against Randolph-Macon to follow.

"Our offense is starting to get where we want it to be, and we are in a good place heading into conference play," concluded Peterson. "There are some parts of our game that we would like to sure up, such as blocking, but we are on our way to becoming an elite team. We will get to that level and separate ourselves by eliminating needless errors that end our runs."

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