BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's volleyball team used a balanced attack on Wednesday night to earn a Conference Carolinas victory. The Tornado had three players post at least 10 kills in a 3-1 win over Belmont Abbey College.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Belmont Abbey 1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 12-12, 7-6 Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 5-22, 3-10 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- King scored the first four points of the match, two on aces from Katie Harless and the other two on kills from Gracia Love and Chloe Clayton.
- Belmont Abbey came back and evened the score at eight, but King later used a 5-0 run to regain control of the set.
- A block from Zephanie Snyder and Kara Miller started the spurt before Love and Snyder posted two kills apiece on the run that gave King a 14-9 lead.
- The Tornado then scored six of the final seven points, including the final two on aces from Hailee Blankenship to take the set 25-16.
Second Set
- King scored four straight points on two kills from Love, another from Clayton and another from Snyder to even the set at 10.
- However, the Crusaders scored five straight points to break a tie and take an 18-13 lead.
- King was unable to recover as the Crusaders scored the final three points to win the set 25-19.
Third Set
- Like the opening set, King scored the first four points, the first two on an ace from Harless and kill from Clayton.
- The Crusaders came back, but King used a 5-0 run started by a pair of Love kills to regain control of the set.
- A Harless ace and Love kill gave King an 18-12 advantage.
- Belmont Abbey used a 6-1 run to pull within 23-21 and later pulled within 24-23 before Snyder gave King the 25-23 win with her second kill of the set.
Fourth Set
- The teams went back-and-forth in the early going before a 7-0 Tornado run gave King separation down the stretch.
- Blankenship and Snyder started the run with a pair of kills before two aces from Kylie Love.
- She added another ace before a block from Miller and Snyder gave King a 21-13 lead.
- The Tornado eventually won the set 25-16 with consecutive points to take the match 3-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Blankenship and Snyder led King with 14 kills apiece. Blankenship added 11 digs for the double-double.
- Gracia Love added 11 kills, one off of her career-high that was set on Saturday.
- Kylie Love handed out 18 assists while Harless posted 17 assists, 11 digs and five aces.
- Gabri Puertas led the back row with 14 digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Jenna McCullough led Belmont Abbey with 11 kills while Baylea added eight kills and seven blocks.
- Caitlyn Faber posted team highs of 25 assists and 15 digs.
- Mia Samaha chipped in with 11 digs and Trinity Bradley added 10 digs.
UP NEXT
- King travels to Chowan University on Friday night. First serve from Murfreesboro, N.C. is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
- Belmont Abbey hosts Francis Marion University on Saturday afternoon.
