Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – In a match full of excitement, the King University men's volleyball team prevailed over Belmont Abbey College in the Tornado's first Conference Carolinas match of the year. Strong play from Eddie Moushikhian, Matthew Lychock and Chandler Wellmann powered the Tornado over the Crusaders in five sets after rallying back from two sets down.
The match began with excitement coming from the first serve as the scoring went back and forth till King took a 9-7 off a Mason Casner kill. Belmont Abbey got right back in it and took the lead from King at 13-12. Moushikhian gave the Tornado a 14-13 lead before the Crusaders would continue to hold their lead off a kill. Lychock got the Tornado within one at 21-20 behind a strong attack that resulted in a kill before Moushikhian forced the set to go over 25 points when he tied the game at 24 off a kill, assisted by Nick Drooker. Belmont Abbey would score the next two points and defeated the Tornado in set one, 26-24.
King (2-1, 1-0 CC) looked to win set two after dropping a close first one but the Crusaders came out strong and took a quick 7-3 lead before Lychock brought the score back to 10-9 off a pass from Drooker. Belmont Abbey would continue to get points and eventually led King 23-15. Moushikhian would get the Tornado score to 18 points, but it would not be enough as King fell to Belmont Abbey in set two 25-18.
Looking to get a set under their belt, King came out strong in the third set scoring the first four points before the Crusaders got on the board. The Tornado would gain a five point advantage at 12-7, after Nick Serowski delivered a kill, assisted by Drooker. Belmont Abbey would get within three at 18-15 before the Tornado brought the lead back to four points at 23-19 forcing a Crusaders timeout. Belmont Abbey (2-2, 1-1 CC) would get a point but King would go on to win set three, 25-20, bringing the match score to Crusaders 2, Tornado 1.
The Tornado started fast again in set four, scoring the first four points, capped off by a Serowski kill. King would go back and forth with four and five point leads before Belmont Abbey brought the score to within two at 15-13. Serowski would give King a four point advantage at 19-15 off an assist from Matthew DeLong. Belmont Abbey tied the game at 22 before the Tornado would score the next two points and gained a 24-22 lead off a Casner kill. The final point of the set would come of a Moushikhian kill, giving King a 25-23 win, forcing a fifth and final set.
In the final set of the evening, a set that only goes to 15 points, the Tornado went down early, 4-1 before King took a 9-5 lead off kills from Moushikhian and Casner. Belmont Abbey would attempt to cut the lead down, but Moushikhian would answer with two more kills giving King a seven point advantage, 14-7. The final point in the match full of excitement, came off a Belmont Abbey service error giving King a 15-8 win.
As a team, King finished the day with a .175 attack percentage while Belmont Abbey posted a .182 percentage. The Crusaders tallied 56 kills to King's 49. The Tornado was led by Moushikhian who registered 19 kills followed by Lychock with 10. Wellmann played stellar defense, recording 15 digs in the contest. Drooker posted 51 assists in the contest, a new high in his young career.
King will take the court next on Tuesday, January 27 when they travel to Limestone College in another Conference Carolinas matchup. The outing is set for 6:00 pm down in Gaffney, S.C.
