BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's volleyball team opened the 2017 campaign with a resounding victory over Lincoln Memorial University. The Tornado seem to improve throughout the match, topping the Railsplitters 3-0.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Lincoln Memorial 0
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 1-0; Lincoln Memorial 0-1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tornado offense didn't wait long to get going, scoring the first three points of the match. Jeff Sprayberry started it with a kill, Nick Drooker followed with an ace and Sean Luhmann added a kill.
• King then gained separation with an 8-1 run, including five straight points to open the spurt that gave King an 11-3 advantage.
• The Railsplitters tried to comeback late in the set, but Sprayberry gave King the 25-20 victory with his fifth kill of the set.
• King again opened the second set with three straight points and gradually extended their lead to 16-10.
• Lincoln Memorial used a 4-0 run to pull within 20-19 and again trailed 21-20 when King went on a run.
• The Tornado scored three straight points, and Luhmann later gave King the 25-21 win with a kill.
• The King offense hit its stride in the third set, hitting a blistering .520 with 15 kills against two errors on 25 attempts.
• King used a 5-0 run in the middle of the set to turn an 11-7 lead into a 16-7 advantage.
• Later in the set, King again scored five straight points to earn a chance at match point at 24-10.
• Following a pair of Railsplitter points, Kiel Bell gave King the 25-12 victory with his lone kill of the match.
• Sprayberry led King with 11 kills, hitting .320 in the match.
• Luhmann followed with nine kills, three digs and three block assists.
• Drooker and Eddie Moushikhian paced the defense with seven kills each, and Drooker handed out 27 assists.

FOR THE FOES

• Evan Cory led the Railsplitters with eight kills while Pedro Carvalho and Ryan Iskandar followed with six kills each.
• Iksandar also handed out 23 assists and Jorge Collazo registered a match-high nine digs.
• Marcus Molina posted two block assists and two solo blocks.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• For the second time since 2011, the Tornado start 1-0. King last won their first match of the season in 2015 when the defeated the University of Charleston (W.Va.)

UP NEXT

• King is in action again on Friday night in the Student Center Complex when they host the University of Charleston (W.Va.) at 7:00 p.m.
• Lincoln Memorial travels to Lees-McRae College on Friday night.