ATHENS, W.Va. –
Hailee Blankenship tied her career-high in kills, while
Gracia Love set a new career-high for the King University women's volleyball team in a 3-2 road loss to Concord University Tuesday night.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Concord 3, King 2 (25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-6)
LOCATION: Carter Center; Athens, W.Va.
RECORDS: King 1-5; Concord 7-3
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- Concord took an early 8-5 lead before King went on a 4-1 scoring run, tying the set at nine on a kill by Abigale Jayne.
- After another kill by Jayne tied the score at 11, the Mountain Lions would score four of the next five points, forcing the Tornado to call a timeout trailing 15-12.
- Coming out of the timeout, King scored two consecutive points, with Riley Nelson getting a block and Love picking up a kill.
- The Mountain Lions would then score five of the next six points, forcing King to call their second timeout, trailing 20-15.
- King again came storming back coming out of the timeout, scoring the next four points to pull to within 20-19.
- The Mountain Lions responded by taking five of the final six points, winning the set 25-20.
Second Set
- The Tornado started the set with Belcher getting a kill and assisting on a block with Jayne, putting King in front 2-0.
- After going ahead 7-6 on a Blankenship service ace, the Tornado fell behind, with Concord opening up a 15-11 lead, forcing King to call timeout.
- Coming out of the timeout, the Tornado scored two straight points, including a kill by Riley Nelson that pulled to within 15-12.
- The Tornado continued to fight their way back, eventually scoring six of seven points including consecutive kills by Belcher, taking a 19-18 lead that forced the Mountain Lions to call a timeout.
- Concord battled back and tied the set, but after pulling ahead 23-22, the Tornado used a kill from Nelson to take a 24-22 lead.
- After a Concord kill brought them to within 24-23, the Tornado won the set 25-23 on a serving error, tying the match at one set each.
Third Set
- After falling behind 3-0, the Tornado came back, getting to within 5-4 after a Mountain Lions attack error.
- Concord would eventually extend the lead into a 15-10 advantage, resulting in King calling timeout.
- The lead reached 23-15 before the Tornado started to rally, scoring three straight points, with kills coming from Jayne and Blankenship before Belcher picked up a service ace.
- The Mountain Lions would end up taking the final two points, winning the set 25-18 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Fourth Set
- After taking an early lead, the Tornado fell behind, with Concord eventually going ahead 13-10.
- King would then score five points in a row, with Blankenship and Belcher getting a block assist, along with three Concord errors that put King ahead 15-13.
- After the Mountain Lions took a timeout, they were able to keep the score close until King went on a 5-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 22-15.
- After a Faith Morse kill put the Tornado ahead 24-18, Jersey Wines closed the set with a service ace, winning the set 25-18 and sending the match into the fifth and decisive set.
Fifth Set
- After taking a 1-0 lead on a Belcher kill, the Tornado fell behind, as Concord scored five consecutive points to take a 5-1 lead.
- Concord continued to stretch their lead, eventually going ahead 12-4.
- Blankenship recorded a kill to make the score 12-5, but Concord would take three of the final four points to win the set 15-6, and the match 3-0.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Blankenship finished with 18 kills, three aces and nine digs, marking the fourth consecutive match that she has posted double-digit kills. The 19 kills also ties her career-high, which was set last season.
- Love finished with 14 kills, with Belcher adding 11 and Jayne contributing 10.
- Jersey Wines led the back row with 17 digs, while Kylie Love handed out a team-high 25 assists, with Harless handing out 24.
FOR THE FOES
- Meg Williams led all players with 25 kills, also posting 12 digs and a block assist.
- Paige Richmond had 36 assists, along with eight digs and a service ace.
UP NEXT
- King will continue nonconference play Thursday at Bluefield State University, with first serve at 7 p.m.
- Concord will also play at Bluefield State this week, taking on the Big Blue Saturday afternoon.
