The Southern Virginia University men's volleyball team defeated No. 14 Juniata College in a five-set thriller 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10 Friday night.
Mark Stapley shined in the matchup locking in a career-high 18 kills on 32 total attempts giving him the .344 hitting average. Nahuel Recabarren impressed along with Stapley tallying 14 kills on 28 total attempts giving him the .321 hitting percentage. Kaipo Tagaloa dished out a game-high 49 assists while McKay Walker dominated at the net with three blocks.
The Knights (9-3, 3-0 CVC) jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set before exchanging points making the new score 8-6. After a service error by Southern Virginia, Recabarren sparked a 7-1 run to elevate the Knights' lead to 15-8. Both teams traded points the remainder of the set, with Southern Virginia holding off the Eagles (10-5, 3-1 CVC) to take the first set and take the early 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set saw both teams stalemated at 12 before Juniata used a 5-2 run to jump to a 17-14 lead before the Knights bounced back, bringing the score within one off a kill and service ace from Paul Clark. The Eagles finished the second set outscoring the Knights 8-2 to even the match score 1-1. Clark, Stapley, and Recabarren led all players with two kills apiece. Juniata outhit the Knights .619 to .083 in the set.
Southern Virginia used two kills from Stapley to lead an early 5-1 run to begin the third set. Juniata used a 5-2 run of their own to bring the score within one point 7-6 before a Walker kill initiated a 7-2 run by Knights to extend their lead to six points 14-8 midway through the set. After going back and forth with points with the score at 18-14, Southern Virginia used a 3-0 run to bring the new score to 21-14. The Knights finished the third set preventing a Juniata comeback and taking the 2-1 lead in the match after taking the third set 25-19. The Knights outhit the Eagles .462 to .091.
The fourth set saw Southern Virginia go down 6-2 early in the set. The Knights came back within one point 11-10 after a Recabarren kill before an attacking error evened the score at 11. Southern Virginia took its first lead of the set 13-12 following another Recabarren kill. Paul Clark extended the lead to two points 14-12 off a Tagaloa assist. The Eagles regained their lead 16-14 after using a 4-0 led by two service aces from Sean Cavanagh. Each team traded points bringing the score to 22-21 late in the set coming off a Clark kill. Juniata closed out the set with a 3-1 final run to take the match into the fifth set.
Sam Candland used two service aces early in the fifth set to give Southern Virginia a commanding 7-2 lead. The Eagles confidently responded with a 5-2 run to bring the new score to 7-6. After trading points, a service error by Juniata and a Clark kill sparked a final 6-2 run to secure the victory over the No. 14 Juniata College.
The Knights host Elizabethtown in Knight Arena on Saturday, Feb. 29 looking to remain undefeated in CVC play. The match is set for 1 p.m.
STORY COURTESY OF SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY