BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's volleyball team fought back from a 2-0 deficit on Saturday afternoon in the Student Center Complex. The Tornado couldn't complete the comeback, however, as Erskine College took the fifth set 15-12 to win the match 3-2.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Erskine 3, King 2 (25-19, 25-12, 16-25, 21-25, 15-12)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 8-12, 5-7 Conference Carolinas; Erskine 9-11, 4-6 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- The teams traded runs early before Erskine used a 5-1 spurt to take an 11-7 lead.
- King fought back to pull within two on multiple occasions, but Erskine used four straight points to open up a 21-15 lead.
- The Flying Fleet went on to take the set 25-19.
Second Set
- Erskine used another 5-1 run to take and 11-5 lead before scoring four straight points, opening up a 15-6 advantage.
- The Flying Fleet went on a 5-0 run late in their 25-12 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Third Set
- A Douglas Florencio kill started a 4-0 run as Florencio capped the spur with a block to give the Tornado a 10-6 lead.
- Diego Marcano and Aaron Milstead teamed up for a block that capped a 5-0 King spurt and gave the Tornado a 17-10 lead.
- The Tornado used another 5-0 run to take a 22-11 lead before Florencio gave King the 25-16 victory with a kill.
Fourth Set
- King kept the momentum going as Kim started the set with a kill and JT Deppe followed with back-to-back aces.
- A 4-1 King run gave the Tornado a 12-8 lead before the teams traded 3-0 spurts.
- Erskine came back and pulled within one late it the set, but King closed the 25-21 win by scoring four of the final five points. A Deppe block closed the set and forced a fifth and decisive set.
Fifth Set
- Florencio gave King an early 4-2 lead with a as the teams traded blows.
- Kim evened the score at nine with a kill, but the Flying Fleet came back with consecutive points.
- Erskine didn't relinquish that lead as they took the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kim led the Tornado with 16 kills, five digs and six blocks.
- Marcano followed with 10 kills while Jackson Carroll added nine kills and five digs.
- Milstead posted 10 blocks, three solo to lead the Tornado.
- Florencio added six blocks.
- Deppe handed out 41 assists to go along with seven digs and five blocks.
- Noah Melendez posted 13 digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Edgerrin Austin led Erskine with 17 kills and seven digs.
- Kacper Rybarczyk followed with 14 kills and nine digs.
- Cole Vigo added 11 kills while Jacob Whyte added 11 kills and 11 digs.
- Tome Filkov chipped in with 10 kills.
- Juan Alcoba handed out 57 assists while Justin Rendon posted 13 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King posted a season-high with 19.0 blocks.
- Milstead set a career-high with 10 blocks. That mark ranks second in school history.
UP NEXT
- King is in action again on Thursday when they travel to rival Lees-McRae College. First serve from Banner Elk, N.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- Erskine is scheduled to travel to North Greenville University on Thursday night.
