Lexington, VA - With hundreds of Knights fans packed inside Holekamp Gymnasium, the Southern Virginia University men's volleyball team did not disappoint its home crowd.

In a thrilling match with Messiah, Southern Virginia booked its ticket to the national semifinal for the second time in program history. After dropping the first set, the Knights took the next three to win 3-1.

Feeding off the energy from their home crowd, the Knights quickly went on the attack during the opening frame. They jumped out to a 13-6 lead, but the Falcons showed resilience and claimed the lead late in the set. 

Buoyed by several service errors from their opponents, the Knights had opportunities to close out the opening frame, but it was Messiah who assumed control, finishing Southern Virginia off with three straight points to snatch the important 1-0 lead.

Looking to recapture the momentum, Kyler Evans recorded back-to-back points to provide his team the lead. Southern Virginia would retain the advantage for the remainder of the set, equaling the score at one set apiece after garnering four of the last five points in the second.

In a gotta-have-it third set, stellar play from Messiah would force the Knights to come from behind again. After falling behind 22-21, Kyler Evans provided a much-needed kill to give way for Jayton Hall, the Knights' spark plug of the weekend, to work his magic.

Hall delivered an ace and helped Southern Virginia collect the next three points, claiming the set to bring Messiah to a do or die fourth set. Jayton Hall ultimately finished the match with three aces, bringing his weekend total to 8.

A couple of attacking errors from the Falcons had the Knights headed in the right direction at the beginning of the fourth. At the midway point, Tom Peterson's squad had built a 12-8 lead to force a Messiah timeout. However, the Falcons went on a run of their own during the next several minutes to claim a 18-17 lead.

With the pressure building but the hometown crowd behind them, Christian Sheaffer led the Knights on a furious rally, delivering two aces during a stretch of eight consecutive points to claim the set and a spot in the national semifinal.

Kyler Evans' .529 hitting percentage and Kristo Bianchin's 4 blocks helped secure one of the biggest wins in program history. Along with Evans, Justin Madsen and Christian Sheaffer were named to the All-Tournament team for this portion of the bracket. 

Up Next

The Knights will get the next few days off from competition in preparation for the national semifinal next weekend. They'll face a familiar foe in Juniata College, a rival from the CVC who Southern Virginia defeated just last week for the conference crown.

For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightathletics.com and follow @knightmvolleyball on Instagram.