Lynchburg, VA – As the live stream broadcast called it, Sunday was a "Brunch and Blocks" match for the Regent University Men's Volleyball team as they faced the University of Lynchburg. This was a rematch from earlier in the month, when the Royals defeated the Hornets in a close five set match. Since then, both teams have had a busy schedule, but Regent was looking to head home with the season sweep.
The first set began with a kill by Junior Keith Larkin (Snohomish, WA) to give the Royals the early lead. After eventually falling behind by a point, Freshman Preston Nemeti (Burke, VA) stepped up with a big kill to tie things up. The score would change hands a few times and the Hornets eventually took a two-point advantage until Graduate Student Colby Yawn (Chesapeake, VA) came through with a hard kill. Unfortunately, the Royals fell behind by five points, but a kill by Graduate Student Aaron Campbell (Virginia Beach, VA) stopped the Lynchburg scoring. A block by Larkin pulled Regent to withing three points but they would fall in the set 25-19.
The Royals scored the first two points of the second set, but eventually the Hornets were able to grab the lead at 4-3. Lynchburg continued to score but Regent stayed close thanks to errors by the Hornets. Another Yawn kill kept his team within striking distance, but the Royals could not mount a comeback and would lose the set 25-13.
Freshman Joshua Bissell (Dillsburg, PA) delivered a strong kill at the beginning of the third set, but Lynchburg was able to take an early two-point lead. Again, errors by the Hornets gave Regent opportunities to stay in the match and Nemeti took advantage of that. Yawn would as well as he pulled the Royals to within one point after a kill. A few points later, Larkin found a spot for the point, keeping the advantage at one-point but Lynchburg would go on a run and win the match 3-0 (25-20).
Campbell led Regent with 9 kills, while Yawn finished with 6 six digs to go along with his 7 assists. In addition, Sophomore Ariel Downer (Spring Lake, NC) added a team high 8 digs.
The Royals will be back in action on Friday, February 28th when they welcome in Roanoke College for their first ever home game. First serve is scheduled for 4:30pm.
