#11 Men's Volleyball Battles #2 Southern Virginia, Falls in Four

BOSTON, Mass. – 20 kills on 42 swings for Christian Scheaffer helped guide the No. 2-ranked Southern Virginia Knights (24-0) to a four-set battle over No. 11-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology (20-5) inside Tansey Gym on Thursday night.

The Black & Gold's set one win over the Knights was the first set Southern Virginia has fallen in through 24 matches this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Three finishes from Nicolai Bell helped Wentworth out to a 5-1 in the first set before a kill by Conner Foxwell marked a 9-4 score later on. A slew of errors for the Knights paced the Leopards' lead to 14-6 and 16-7 scores before two kills from Jacob Waga marked a 19-13 set. Behind 21-15, Southern Virginia battled back, knotting the set at 23-all, but a kill by Mason Andrade helped the Black & Gold clinch a 25-23 set win.
• The Knights came out hot in the second set, pushing their advantage to 7-2, before a kill by Alem Dubcak later marked a 9-5 deficit for Wentworth. Kills by Waga and Andrade clawed the Leopards back at 13-10 before two kills from Dubcak marked a 17-14 deficit. After Southern Virginia pushed their lead to 21-15, a kill aside for Waga and Andrade helped the Leopards string along at 21-18, but the Knights ultimately held on for a 25-21 set win.
• Kills by Waga, Bell, and Andrew Ahn (2) helped the Leopards out to a 7-3 advantage in the fourth set before, behind 10-8, the Knights rallied to take a 14-10 lead. Kills from Bell and Waga later kept the deficit at 16-13 before a finish by Foxwell marked a 19-16 set. Southern Virginia paced themselves to a 25-18 set win in the later going.
• Three finishes by Waga helped mark a 4-4 draw early in the fourth set before, after falling behind 11-9, another kill by Waga helped Wentworth take a 12-11 edge. Two kills by Foxwell marked a 16-13 lead for Wentworth before Southern Virginia later knotted the score at 18-all. The two teams swapped scores until the Knights claimed two-point gaps at 22-20 and 23-21. From there, Southern Virginia claimed a 25-22 set win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the second all-time meeting between the two teams and first since the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards hop back into conference play Saturday with a tri-match featuring Regis and Rivier.
  

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