BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's volleyball team closed the regular season on Thursday night against rival Lees-McRae College. The Bobcats took the first set before the Tornado came storming back in the second set to even the tally. However, Lees-McRae won the final two sets to take the match 3-1.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae 3, King 1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-21, 25-23)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 13-15, 8-6 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 11-14, 7-7 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- King got off to a hot start, taking a 5-2 lead, and held a 7-5 advantage following a Warren Davis kill before the Bobcats went on a run.
- Lees-McRae scored the next seven points to take a 12-7 lead and led 15-11 in the middle of the set.
- The Tornado couldn't get closer than four points as the Bobcats took the set 25-18.
Second Set
- The Tornado took a 9-1 lead following eight straight points.
- Davis posted three kills on the run while Kellan Kennedy added two terminations. The pair teamed up for a block that capped the spurt.
- The King advantage grew to 12-2 following consecutive Davis kills before the Bobcats chipped away at the deficit.
- Lees-McRae pulled within six, but King responded each time as a Mason Martindale kill gave the Tornado a chance a set point.
- A block from Aaron Milstead and Jack Sarnowski gave King the 25-14 win.
Third Set
- A Davis kill gave King a 4-2 lead early in the set before Lees-McRae went on a 6-1 run to take an 8-5 lead.
- King pulled within one twice, but the Bobcats extended their lead to 18-13 before the Tornado took a timeout.
- Late in the set, King pulled within 22-20 with four straight points. Davis posted a kill before a block from Jackson Carroll and Kennedy followed by a Sarnowski ace ended the spurt.
- However, Lees-McRae scored three of the final four points to take the set 25-21.
Fourth Set
- The Tornado came back from a 4-2 deficit to take a 7-5 lead following a kill from Milstead.
- King held an 11-8 lead before three straight Bobcat points evened the set.
- Davis later gave King a 17-15 lead with a kill before the Bobcats came back to even the score again.
- Lees-McRae went on a 6-2 run to take a 24-21 lead.
- Kills from Davis and Milstead fought off two match points, but Lees-McRae tallied the last point to take the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Davis led the way with 22 kills and added three digs and three blocks. Davis hit .390 in the match.
- Kennedy chipped in with 10 kills and four blocks.
- Sarnowski handed out 46 assists and added eight digs.
- Justin Sawyer led the back row with nine digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Michael Marsans led the way for Lees-McRae with 11 kills while M.J. Doyle added 10 kills and six digs.
- Ace Backer chipped in with nine kills while Bradley Peters handed out 37 assists and added five blocks and six digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Davis posted his fourth match this season with at least 20 digs.
UP NEXT
- King will be the third seed in the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship and take on six seed University of Mount Olive in a quarterfinal on Tuesday night in the Student Center Complex.
- Lees-McRae will be the fifth seed in the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship and travel to fourth seed Belmont Abbey College on Tuesday in a quarterfinal.
