BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's volleyball team returned to the court for the first time in more than two weeks and took a thrilling five-set victory over Belmont Abbey College.
Warren Davis posted a career-high 25 kills, leading King to the 3-2 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Belmont Abbey 0 (23-25, 33-31, 25-17, 18-25, 15-11)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 10-12, 5-3 Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 8-12, 4-4 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- King jumped out to a 4-3 lead following a block from Jack Sarnowski and Aaron Milstead.
- However, Belmont Abbey rolled off five straight points to take an 8-4 lead.
- The Tornado deficit grew to 17-1 before King started to chip away.
- A Warren Davis kill pulled King within 19-18 and capped a 7-2 Tornado run.
- Nevertheless, Belmont Abbey took the set 25-23.
Second Set
- Belmont Abbey held the advantage early in the set before three straight points gave King a 16-15 advantage.
- The Crusaders came back and took a 23-21 lead, and led 24-22 before consecutive kills from Davis evened the tally at 24.
- A Sarnowski ace gave King a 25-24 lead and forced a Belmont Abbey timeout.
- The teams then traded sideouts until a Davis kill, followed by a Milstead ace gave King the 33-31 win.
Third Set
- Belmont Abbey jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but King back and evened the score at five on a Kellan Kennedy kill.
- The Tornado used a 5-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. AJ Drooker served up a pair of aces on the run while Milstead posted a kill and a block from Milstead and Jackson Carroll capped the spurt.
- King gradually pulled away to take the set 25-17.
Fourth Set
- Belmont Abbey got off to a hot start again, this time opening up a 7-2 lead early in the set.
- King fought back with three straight points as a Milstead kill pulled King within two.
- The Tornado pulled within two once more before the Crusaders pulled away to take the set 25-18.
Fifth Set
- Davis started the set with back-to-back kills as King jumped out to the early lead.
- King then scored three straight points to take a 7-4 lead and forcing a Belmont Abbey timeout.
- The Crusaders came back and pulled within one, but Davis and Kennedy posted consecutive kills to extend the King lead to 10-7.
- The Tornado held that lead and took the set 15-11 and the match 3-2 on a block from Carroll and Milstead.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Davis led the Tornado with 25 kills and 13 digs.
- Milstead added six kills and seven block assists.
- Carroll and Kennedy posted 10 kills apiece while Carroll added eight digs.
- Sarnowski handed out 45 assists.
- Justin Sawyer chipped in with 11 digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Matteo Miselli led Belmont Abbey with 20 kills, five digs and six blocks.
- Matthew Staskunas followed with 14 kills and 11 digs.
- Matthew Maxwell handed out 45 assists and added eight digs.
- Daniel Cerqua led the Crusaders with 13 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Davis set a career-high with 25 kills. His previous high was 21 set in February against Erskine College.
- He also posted his fifth double-double of the season as he was one dig shy of his career-high.
UP NEXT
- King travels to North Greenville University on Tuesday. First serve from Tigerville, S.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- Belmont Abbey hosts Fairleigh Dickenson University on Thursday night.
