BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's volleyball team had a doubleheader against Lees-McRae. Game one was the make up from the postponement earlier in the season. The Tornado swept the day's games, 3-1 and 3-0.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Lees-McRae 1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20) | King 3, Lees-McRae 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-21)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 10-10, 8-8 Conference Carolinas | Lees-McRae 10-15, 2-12 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH 1
First Set
- The Tornado raced out to an early 12-1 lead, with Bailey Fersner, who was on serve for the majority of the scoring run, had a pair of service aces as the Tornado took the early lead.
- Lees-McRae started to rally, eventually pulling to within 23-19.
- After a Bobcats attack error made it set point at 24-19, Madison Blair picked up a kill to end the set, with King winning 25-19.
Second Set
- The Bobcats held a brief 2-1 lead, before King scored eight of the next nine points, taking a 9-3 lead.
- Lees-McRae pulled back to tie the score at nine, eventually pulling out to a 22-17 lead.
- A Lees-McRae service error, along with a Gracia Love Kill brought the Tornado to within 22-19, quickly becoming 23-20.
- The Bobcats were able to score two points, taking the set 25-20.
Third Set
- King scored the first four points of the set, with Capri Johnson recording back-to-back kills.
- The Bobcats were able to tie the score at 13, though the Tornado were able to work it back to a 22-19 advantage.
- The Tornado closed the set with three straight points, including kills from Love and Johnson, along with a Bobcats attack error to take the set 25-19.
Fourth Set
- The teams traded the lead early in the set, with three straight points pulling the Tornado to a 12-10 advantage.
- The Tornado continued their scoring run, eventually getting to a 20-12 advantage.
- After a series of Lees-McRae service errors gave King match point at 24-18, the Bobcats were able to score two points before an attack error put the match away, with King taking the fourth set 25-20, and the match 3-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH 2
First Set
- Both teams traded points, foreshadowing the rest of the set. Lees-McRae did get a four point lead at 12-8 and did keep the advantage for a majority of the set.
- Five straight points late with kills from Gracia Love, Capri Johnson, and Kylie Love gave the Tornado a 23-21 lead.
- King sealed the first set win with an ace from Sydnee Pendland.
Second Set
- King quickly build a lead in the second set, beginning with an opening point kill from Izzy Krick. Back-to-back kills from Riley Nelson gave the Tornado a ten-point lead at 15-5.
- An ace from Kylie Love gave the Tornado their largest lead at 12. Riley Nelson sealed the 25-16 set win with another ace.
Third Set
- The opening points kept the set close. King pulled ahead with a 6-1 run that had three kills from Bailey Fernser.
- King finished the match sweep and the series sweep with a kill from Gracia Love.
- As a team, King had 20 kills in the final set.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Gracia Love led the offense on the day with a combined 35 kills, including 20 in the opening game. She also had a combined 16 digs to help her get a double-double in the first game.
- Riley Nelson had 7 and 10 kills per match respectively. Both Nelson and Kylie Love had 3 aces across the two games. Bailey Fersner had 2 aces in game 1 and Sydnee Pendland had 2 of her own in the second game.
- Kylie Love continued to be the top setter for King with a combined 80 assists and it pulled her season total over 500 (504).
- Defensively Izzy Krick led up from with a total of 4.5 blocks including 2 solo blocks in the first game. Gabri Puertas tallied 34 digs for her effort in both games.
FOR THE FOES
- Nina Vallesi had a combined 18 kills with nine in each game. Destiny Holley had a team-high 12 in game one.
- Vallesi had six total aces, four of which came in game two. Holley had a total of three.
- Brooke Ashkenase had a total of 21 digs.
- As a team, the Bobcats had 15 total blocks over the two games as compared to a total of 10 for the Tornado.
UP NEXT
The Tornado will conclude the road portion of their schedule with a trip to Tigerville, S.C. to take on the North Greenville Trailblazers on Friday, Nov 8 at 7 p.m.
