BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Tornado maintained their pace in the race to the Conference Carolinas Tournament Tuesday night with a 3-0 win over rival Lees-McRae.
Julie Ward had 18 kills for the Tornado, along with 14 digs and three service aces to lead all players.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King University 3, Lees-McRae College 0 (25-22, 25-21, 27-25)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 15-10, 10-4 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 8-12, 6-7 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- It was back and forth early, as Lees-McRae led in the first part of the set, but never for more than one point. The Tornado took a 7-6 lead when Hailee Blankenship picked up a kill.
- King would eventually stretch the lead to 18-12 before the Bobcats started clawing their way back into the set, getting to within 20-19 before King pulled away with a 4-3 run to end the set, with Ward delivering a thunderous kill to end the set.
- The Tornado ended the set with 13 kills, along with a pair of blocks and three service aces. Brittney Ramsey had an assist on both the blocks, while Georgia Davis and Ward also picked up a block assist.
Second Set
- The first part of set 2 was very similar to set 1, with neither team able to open up a very large lead. The largest lead for either team was a 8-6 and 9-7 lead for the Tornado.
- After the Bobcats raced out to a 19-16 lead in the middle of the set, King fought back, getting a kill from Abigale Jayne to get to 19-17
- Ward then recorded back-to-back service aces to tie the match, kicking off an 8-3 run that would span the remainder of the set.
Third Set
- The Bobcats came out on fire in the third set, catapulting out to a 6-1 lead.
- King started to rally, stringing together a couple points at a time to slowly cut into the Lees-McRae lead.
- After a Lees-McRae attack error that brought the Tornado to within one point, Paula La Mendola delivered a service ace to tie things at 22. Ramsey and Ward then recorded back-to-back kills to put the Tornado on the verge of the win before LMC scored a couple of points to tie the match at 24.
- Ward recorded a kill to give the Tornado a 25-24 advantage, but the Bobcats quickly scored one of their own. Ramsey and Ward would then record back-to-back kills to give the Tornado the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ward finished with 18 kills, her second-most of the season and her most since Sept. 11 against Emory & Henry, when she had 23.
- As a team, King had 43 kills, which is tied for their most of the season in a three-set match.
FOR THE FOES
- Hailey Gilreath and Kaden Hill both had 11 kills for the Bobcats.
- Lauren Xayavong had 22 digs for the Bobcats, her third-most of the season and most in a three-set match.
Up Next
- King will have a week off before hosting North Greenville Nov. 2 in their final regular season home match of the season.
- Lees-McRae returns home Friday to host Emmanuel in the first of a back-to-back.
