BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's volleyball team dropped a five-set Conference Carolinas match to rival Lees-McRae on Tuesday night.
Hailee Blankenship and
Abigale Jayne both had 13 kills for the Tornado, with Blankenship adding 14 digs.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae 3, King 2
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 9-9, 4-3 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 4-14, 3-5 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- Zephanie Snyder opened the match with a kill before Katie Harless recorded back-to-back service aces to give the Tornado an early 3-0 lead.
- The Bobcats fought back, scoring three consecutive points to cut the Tornado lead to 10-9.
- After a pair of attack errors extended the lead to 12-9, Snyder recorded another kill to make it 13-9.
- Lees-McRae would come back and get back to within one before a series of three points for the Tornado, two of which came courtesy of kills to make it an 18-14 lead.
- After the Bobcats took a 19-18 advantage, the Tornado would pull back in front and take the set, 25-23.
Second Set
- Neither team was able to take control, as there were seven lead changes.
- The largest King lead came off an attack error that gave them a 4-2 lead.
- After the Tornado took a 18-17 lead, the Bobcats would score four consecutive points to go ahead 21-18 before finishing the set with a 25-23 win, evening the match at 1.
Third Set
- King took an early 5-2 lead thanks in part to kills from Snyder and Blankenship.
- The Tornado scored four unanswered points to stretch their advantage to 10-6.
- The Bobcats were able to tighten up the score and even take a lead at multiple points, including an 18-17 advantage.
- After that, the Tornado went on a run of scoring seven unanswered points to take a 24-18 lead.
- King would eventually take the set 25-19 after trading service errors with Lees-McRae.
Fourth Set
- The Tornado fell behind early, as the Bobcats took an early 4-1 lead.
- King got a scoring run in the middle of the set, as Kara Miller, Blankenship and Harless had back-to-back kills to get the Tornado to within 19-12.
- Despite that, King was unable to rally back, as Lees-McRae scored five of the final seven points to win the set, 25-15.
Fifth Set
- Both teams had narrow one-point leads early in the set, but the Bobcats eventually took a 7-6 lead, which started a stretch of three unanswered points to make the score 9-6.
- The Tornado battled back, as after a timeout they scored four of the next five points to trim the lead to 12-11.
- Lees-McRae would score the final three points of the set to win it 15-11, and take the match 3-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Blankenship finished with another double-double, finishing with 13 kills and 14 digs. This is het seventh double-double of the season, and the fourth in her last five matches.
- Claire Wilson led the Tornado back row with 16 digs, while Jersey Wines had 12.
- Snyder and Abigail Belcher both had four block assists, with Belcher adding a pair of solo blocks.
FOR THE FOES
- Destiny Holley and Sydney Stigler both had 17 kills, while Annalaine Tew and Hailey Gilreath had 15 and 11, respectively.
- Holley also had seven block assists on the night, with Tew adding four block assists.
- Madison Goins had 57 set assists.
UP NEXT
- King will remain at home this weekend, hosting UNC Pembroke Friday night before taking on Francis Marion Saturday afternoon.
- The Bobcats are also at home, hosting Francis Marion Friday night.
