BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The King University women's volleyball team rallied after falling behind early in the fourth set Thursday night, beating Bluefield State University 3-1 after dominating the first two sets.
Hailee Blankenship led the Tornado with 13 kills, with
Bailey Fersner adding 12.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Bluefield State 1 (25-12, 25-12, 15-25, 25-21)
LOCATION: Ned E. Shott Gym; Bluefield, W.Va.
RECORDS: King 2-5; Bluefield State 2-8
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- Neither team was able to gain a large advantage until the Tornado went on a 5-0 scoring run to take a 10-5 lead, including a pair of service aces by Chloe Clayton.
- After Bluefield State got a point off a service error, Kara Miller picked up a kill, starting another scoring run, this one would e a 4-0 run that saw the score turn into 14-6.
- King continued to extend their lead, eventually reaching 19-9 on an attack error by the Big Blue.
- After the Big Blue took their second timeout, they got a point off a kill, but King would score the final three points, including a Kylie Love service ace that ended the set, with King winning 25-12.
Second Set
- The Tornado jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, with Hailee Blankenship recording three kills.
- Bluefield State was able to get back to within 5-3, but a 3-0 scoring run by the Tornado opened up an 8-3 advantage.
- King continued to extend their lead, eventually reaching 17-9, where Bluefield State took a timeout.
- Coming out of the timeout, King scored two more points, making the lead 19-9 before the Big Blue were able to get a point, temporarily slowing down the Tornado.
- It wouldn't last long, as King would score the next four points, taking a 23-10 lead.
- The Tornado would eventually win the set 25-12, with Blankenship closing the set just as she opened it, with her eighth kill of the night.
Third Set
- The Big Blue raced out to a 5-0 lead, with King slowly clawing their way back, getting to within 11-9 on an Abigale Jayne kill.
- Bluefield State was able to re-extend their lead, with the advantage reaching 16-10 before a King timeout.
- The Tornado scored two points coming out of the timeout, but the Big Blue lead reached 22-12 before the Tornado scored a couple of points to end the scoring run.
- The Big Blue would get a pair of kills to win the set 25-15.
Fourth Set
- The Big Blue again took an early lead, scoring the first three points before the Tornado responded with three points of their own to tie the score.
- Bluefield State was able to keep extending their lead, eventually taking a 11-4 lead, forcing a timeout by King.
- The lead reached 15-6, but the Tornado came alive at that point, scoring the next four points to pull to within 15-10, with the Big Blue calling a timeout.
- After the timeout, King picked up right where they left off, working their way back to tie the set at 17.
- King was able to take their first lead of the set at 22-21, capping off a 3-0 scoring run with Kylie Love recording consecutive aces, forcing Bluefield State to call another timeout.
- The Tornado ended the set by scoring the final three points, winning 25-21 and taking the match 3-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
FOR THE FOES
- Lindsey Neal led the Big Blue, recording 13 kills, along with a solo block and an assisted block.
- Kateryna Dashevska had 33 assists and four digs on the night.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will open Conference Carolinas action Saturday afternoon at Erskine College. First serve is set for 2 p.m. in Due West, S.C.
- Bluefield State will host Concord University Saturday afternoon.
