After missing out on their chance last spring to defend their Continental Volleyball Conference Championship title from 2019, Southern Virginia University successfully accomplished the feat this spring; topping Juniata College 3-2. Southern Virginia, the top-seed in the tournament, becomes the first team to repeat as CVC Champions since Juniata did so in 2012 and 2013.
Southern Virginia, ranked #10 in the latest AVCA poll, started the match by taking the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-23, before Juniata rallied to even the match up with 25-18, 26-24 wins. Southern Virginia then secured the program's second CVC title with a 15-8 win in the fifth set.
The visiting Eagles, the #9 team in the nation, scored the first three points of the match, taking advantage of two Knight attack errors, and built up a 7-3 lead early on with Robert Bowling closing out that run with back-to-back kills.
However the Knights took advantage of a service ace to start a 6-0 run of their own, highlighted by three aces, to take a 9-7 lead. The Knights did not relinquish that lead for the remainder of the set.
The two teams played even through the second set until a kill by Juniata's Reese Ganter sparked a run. The Eagles stretched a lead out to four points, the biggest of the set, after a kill from Tyler Goldsborough made the score 21-17.
But the Knights turned to Nahuel Recabarren for an answer, putting down a kill of his own to start a 5-0 run that included kills from Mark Stapley and Tanner Durkin. Juniata drew the score even at 23-23 but another Stapley kill put the Knights back on top and an ace from Samuel Candland closed out the set.
Down 2-0 in sets, Juniata responded with the first seven points of the third set. That lead would last as the Knights miscues continued, hitting -.065 in the set with 11 errors to just 9 kills.
The Eagles energy was renewed and it showed in the fourth set as they came out firing away, putting down a match high 14 kills in the fourth set and hitting a match best .333. The two teams traded points throughout the set until the Knights opened up a 19-14 lead after a kill from Recabarren.
This time it was the Eagles who come from behind to close out the set with Tyler Goldsborough putting down two kills during a run that brought the score to 23-22. The Knights committed four straight errors that allowed Will Phelan to put down the set winner for Juniata at 26-24.
The fifth set was all about who was able to run their offense the best and in the end it was the Knights. Southern Virginia totaled six kills in the set, committing just one error, while Juniata finished with three kills and six errors. Recabarren had back-to-back kills for the Knights that put them one point away from the title and it was Stapley that tallied the final point on a set from Kaipo Tagaloa.
Southern Virginia hit .203 in the match with Nahuel Recabarren leading the way with 20 kills. Mark Stapley added 11 kills, hitting .526 for the match. Kaipo Tagaloa finished with 52 assists and eight digs while Jothan Castillo recorded a team-high nine digs.
Juniata finished with a team hitting percentage of .177 and was led by Will Phelan (13 kills) and Robert Bowling (10 kills).
2021 CVC All-Tournament Team
Nahuel Recabarren, Southern Virginia - Most Outstanding Player
Kaipo Tagaloa, Southern Virginia
Mark Stapley, Southern Virginia
Kevin Duffy, Juniata
Will Phelan, Juniata
Jared Ray, Kean
Miles Olson, Marymount
Kolby Gibson, Randolph-Macon
Andrew Zaleck, Rutgers-Newark