WISE, Va. – Haley Price earned her first career win as the King University women's volleyball head coach Thursday afternoon, as the Tornado opened the season by splitting their matches at the Cavalier Classic. The Tornado opened the day with a 3-0 win over West Alabama before falling 3-0 to host UVA Wise.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, West Alabama 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-22), King 0, UVA Wise 3 (24-26, 22-25, 23-25)
LOCATION: David J. Pryor Convocation Center; Wise, Va.
RECORDS: King 1-1; UVA Wise 2-0; West Alabama 0-2
HOW IT HAPPENED – West Alabama
First Set
- The Tornado controlled the set early, taking a 6-3 lead before going on a 9-1 scoring run to take a 15-4 lead.
- King extended the lead to 20-8, before scoring three straight points, two of which came from Zephanie Snyder to take a 23-8 lead.
- The Tornado prevailed in the set, 25-13 with Gracia Love getting the set-ending kill.
Second Set
- King scored the first six points of the set, with Princess Emma Oluwa recording two service aces, along with a kill by Riley Nelson and Love.
- The Tigers pulled to within 10-5, but King then scored the next seven points, with Love picking up three aces and two kills during the scoring run.
- After a Nelson block put King up 24-9, the Tigers scored the next four points before a West Alabama attack error handed King a 25-13 set win.
Third Set
- After West Alabama took the first three points, the Tornado used a 3-0 run in part to pull even at five, with Faith Morse picking up consecutive service aces.
- A stretch of five straight King points then put them in front, 10-7, with Kylie Love getting a service ace.
- The teams then went back-and-forth, before a 3-0 King run saw them pull ahead 19-17, forcing the Tigers to call timeout.
- West Alabama pulled to within 22-21, but King scored three of the final four points, including a match-ending kill from G. Love, handing King a 25-22 set win, and a 3-0 match win.
HOW IT HAPPENED – UVA Wise
First Set
- The Cavaliers won the first three points, before the Tornado responded with three of their own, including a kill from Chloe Clayton to tie the set at three.
- UVA Wise kept things close though, tying the set at 11 before King scored four of the next five points to take a 15-12 lead.
- A 4-0 scoring run saw UVA Wise take a 23-21 lead, forcing the Tornado to call timeout.
- King came storming back, tying the set at 23 before a UVA Wise attack error brought the score to 24-24.
- The Cavaliers took the final two points of the set, winning 26-24 to take a 1-0 lead.
Second Set
- UVA Wise took an early 5-2 lead, before blocks by Zephanie Snyder and Riley Nelson tied the score at five.
- King took their first lead of the set at 7-6 after a block by Nelson and Capri Johnson, but the Cavaliers then scored the next four points, taking a 10-7 advantage.
- The UVA Wise reached 16-10 before King came back, including a 3-0 scoring run that forced UVA Wise to call a timeout, as King pulled to within 18-15.
- King got to within 23-22, but UVA Wise scored the final two points of the set, winning 25-22.
Third Set
- The Cavaliers took an early 6-2 lead, which King was able to cut to 7-5 after a 3-1 scoring run.
- UVA Wise worked their way back to a 13-8 lead, after which King scored three straight, all of which were Chloe Clayton kills.
- UVA Wise then scored five of the next six points, taking an 18-12 advantage.
- King forced UVA Wise to take a timeout after fighting back to within 21-18, with Nelson getting a block and a kill.
- The Tornado continued to fight, tying the set at 23 after a block by Snyder and Clayton, as well as a G. Love kill, which forced UVA Wise to take their second timeout.
- Coming out of the timeout, UVA Wise scored the final two points, winning the set 25-23, and the match 3-0.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The win over West Alabama was the first win for head coach Haley Price in her King career.
- The last time King won their season opener was the 2021 season, when they beat UVA Wise in straight sets.
- Gracia Love had 26 kills on the day, 16 of which came against UVA Wise. She also had eight digs in the win over West Alabama, along with three service aces.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will face Bluefield State University Friday at 12 p.m. to close out the weekend.
