BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's volleyball team swept Converse University Tuesday night, 3-0 in their final home match of the regular season.
Hailee Blankenship recorded a double-double, finishing with 12 kills and 11 digs.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Converse 0
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 14-13, 9-7 Conference Carolinas; Converse 7-8, 4-13 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- Abigale Jayne picked up a kill to kickstart a stretch that would see King score seven consecutive points to go ahead 10-3.
- Zephanie Snyder had a pair of kills during the scoring streak, along with a pair of blocks.
- After the Valkyries were able to rally to get to 12-10, the Tornado scored three more points to take a 15-10 lead.
- Converse was able to get to within 20-16, but kills from Snyder, Abigail Belcher and Gracia Love helped King win the set, 25-18.
Second Set
- The teams traded the lead early in the second set, with the Tornado starting to pull away after a 3-0 run gave them a 10-8 lead.
- The Valkyries would score three straight of their own to take a 11-10 lead.
- Converse was leading 13-12 when Jayne picked up another kill, setting off a run of 5-1 that made the score 17-14 in favor of the Tornado.
- The Valkyries again came back and tied the score, holding even until a service error at 19-19 gave King a 20-19 lead.
- From there, the Tornado would score five of the final seven points, with Blankenship recording three kills, including the final kill to give the Tornado a 25-21 set win.
Third Set
- Converse opened the set with a 4-2 lead, eventually taking a 12-10 lead.
- Blankenship and Jayne then picked up kills, with an attack error in between to give the Tornado a 13-12 lead.
- King's lead would eventually become 17-14 off kills from Blankenship and Snyder and a block by Kara Miller.
- After the Tornado took a 22-17 lead, the Valkyries would score three straight points to get to within 20-22.
- A pair of attack errors gave King match point, which they won on a kill by Blankenship, winning the set 25-21, and the match 3-0.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- This was the 14th double-double of the season for Blankenship, who led the Tornado in kills (12), digs (11) while also adding a pair of block assists.
- Belcher had five block assists, along with five kills.
- Love finished with a season-high five digs, along with eight kills.
FOR THE FOES
- Evelyn Fitz was one of two Valkyries to reach double-digit kills, finishing with 11, along with nine digs.
- Jasmine Finkley finished with 10 kills and three solo blocks.
- Savannah Ducote had 22 set assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This was the 22nd time that the Tornado and Valkyries have played, with King winning all 22 matchups. It is the longest active streak for the Tornado against any opponent.
UP NEXT
- This was the final home match of the regular season for the Tornado, who will close the season with road matches at Mount Olive (Saturday, 2 p.m.) and North Greenville (Tuesday, Nov. 1). The Tornado will host the opening rounds of the Conference Carolinas tournament on Nov. 5.
- Converse will finish the regular season with a road match Saturday against Southern Wesleyan.
