SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Less than 24 hours after a tough road loss, the King University women's volleyball team rebounded with a nice road win at Converse College to keep their chances at a Conference Carolinas North Division championship alive. The teams split the first two sets before the Tornado offense led King to 25-19 and 25-15 wins in the final two sets to give King the 3-1 victory.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Converse 1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-19, 25-15)
LOCATION: Hannah Gym, Spartanburg, S.C.
RECORDS: King 16-12, 9-5 Conference Carolinas, Converse 3-21, 0-14 Conference Carolinas

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lauren Willoughby served up two services aces early, giving King the quick 4-0 lead in the first. King later used a 5-0 run to open up a 17-9 advantage as the Tornado went on to take the set 25-17.
• The Valkyries responded, however, taking the second set 25-18. Converse used a 4-0 run to stretch a 6-5 lead into a 10-6 advantage as they went on to take the set and even the match.
• Converse broke a 6-6 tie in the third set with four straight points, but the Tornado scored five straight points to take a 14-12 lead. Trailing 17-16, the Tornado scored three straight points to regain the lead, and King closed out the 25-19 victory with six straight points on a kill and two service aces from Grace Underwood.
• In the clinching set, King only made one attack error and posted 19 kills on 33 attacks for a hitting percentage of .545. The Tornado gained the advantage early behind a pair of Ashton Beckner kills and a Willoughby ace, giving King a 5-1 lead. The set was then never closer than two points the rest of the way as King took the set 25-15 for the 3-1 victory.
• Ashleigh Manke posted a team-high 14 kills to go along with six digs. She only made four attack errors for an attack percentage of .323.
• Willoughby followed with 13 kills and 12 digs the double-double. She also hit .345 in the match and had four service aces.
• Underwood followed with nine kills and attack percentage of .412.
• Amy Serowski led the defense with 18 digs while Casey Williams also reached double figures with 11 digs.
• Olivia Underwood dished out 40 assists and accounted for seven digs.

FOR THE FOES

• Katie Butler registered a match-high 17 kills to go along with 10 digs for the double-double.
• Makaylah Plemmons posted 17 digs to lead Converse while Krislyn Moore posted 31 assists.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The double-double gives Willoughby a team-high eight on the season. She also posted her seventh match this season with an attack percentage of at least .300.
• With an attack percentage of .412, Grace Underwood posted an attack percentage of at least .400 for the 10th time this year and third time in her last four matches.
• For Manke, her attack percentage of .323 was the sixth time this season she has posted an attack percentage of at least .300.

UP NEXT

• The win for King sets up a showdown between the Tornado and Barton College on Friday night in the Student Center Complex. King and Barton both come into Friday night's contest with Conference Carolinas records of 9-5, meaning the winning of that match will have a one-game advantage with one game remaining.
• Converse closes the regular season with matches at Pfeiffer University on Friday night and at Belmont Abbey College on Saturday afternoon.