The buildup was as good as the game itself in this one.

A day after moving up to No. 10 in the AVCA National Poll, the Eastern Mennonite volleyball men took down 2016 CVC champion Stevenson University in a five-set thriller. The Royals racked up 22.5 blocks on the night as they beat SU for the first time since 2011.

EMU is now 5-3 overall and 1-0 in the CVC after winning their conference opener. The men are 5-1 against D-III competition. The Mustangs fall to 7-5 / 0-1 CVC.

The Royals take their show on the road this weekend, heading to southeast Pennsylvania. They play at Alvernia in Reading, Pa., Friday night at 6:00pm, before playing a tri-match at Lancaster Bible College on Saturday. The men get No. 3 Stevens at 1:00pm, followed by host LBC at 3:00pm.

But Wednesday's win gave the enthusiastic home crowd all they had hoped for. It was EMU's fourth straight contest to go a full five sets, with three of them ending as wins.

The teams traded runs in the opener before EMU used a 7-1 streak to turn an 18-16 deficit into a 23-19 lead. Stevenson nearly tied the score before R.J. Ocampo (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) dropped a quick kill out of the middle to win the first set, 25-23.

The Royals led by as many as four points in the second set, and were still up 23-20 until the Mustangs made their run. The visitors scored three straight to tie it at 23-23, fended off one set point from EMU, and then got in front 25-24. The two heavyweights then traded kills, point after point, until Stevenson finally got two in a row to win, 31-29.

Eastern Mennonite used a 5-1 run to grab a 17-12 lead midway through the third, and then finished off the set on a 7-2 tear to win, 25-18.

But the Mustangs weren't done. They scored the first three points of the fourth set before the Royals came back and another classic rally took off. EMU worked to leads at 22-20 and 24-22, but five different times Stevenson fended off match point, before capitalizing on two errors from the men to steal the set, 30-28.

In the fifth, SU scored first but Eastern Mennonite answered with the next five points. The visitors came right back with four in a row to lock it up at 5-5. The Royals worked back in front before giving up three straight to give Stevenson a 13-11 lead.

Scott Brigham (Montpelier, Va./Patrick Henry) started the turnaround with a kill and Josh Elmore (Chester, Va./Matoaca) tied it at 13-13 with his sixth kill of the set. The Mustangs hit one out of bounds to give the men match point, and Ocampo and Elmore fittingly teamed up for the winning block, closing things out at 15-13.

Ocampo had a career night to key a defensive effort which came just short of an EMU record. The middle accounted for 13 blocks, easily a career high for the sophomore, as the team racked up 22.5 blocks. The program record is 26 from a match against Juniata in 1992. Ocampo added seven kills on just 14 swings.

Tim Callahan (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) pounded a match and career high 22 kills, while also shattering his career best with nine blocks. Dan Lutz (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) added eight stuffs while Elmore was in on six.

Elmore also had 17 kills and 13 digs, while Brigham charted 11 kills and 11 digs. Libero Colton Frey (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) made 16 digs to lead the team. Setter Christian Taylor (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) racked up 57 assists, the second-highest total of his career.

Stevenson was led by 13 kills and 10 digs from Landon Shorts. Alex Klunk had 11 kills and five blocks. Derek Tangorra led all players with 19 digs.

EMU's win ended a 12-match losing streak to the Mustangs.

Coach Ross Madden said this win proved his team has the ability to be special: