Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University women's volleyball team clinched a share of their third Conference Carolinas West Division title with a sweep of rival Lees-McRae College on Saturday afternoon. The Tornado kept their unbeaten record in the Student Center Complex as Remi Thele paced the offense in the 3-0 win.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Lees-McRae 0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-21)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 17-8, 13-3 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 12-14, 10-6 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- King started the match on fire, hitting .364 in their 25-11 opening set win.
- With Victoria Gause at the service line, King rolled off eight straight points to take a 9-2 advantage.
- Thele had two of her five kills in the set on the spurt. She then gave King the victory with a kill to end the set.
Second Set
- King held a slight advantage early in the second set and made their move after the Bobcats pulled within 12-11.
- Gause ignited the King offense that scored five straight points.
- A pair of Gause aces gave King the 17-11 lead and capped the run.
- Thele then gave King the 25-20 victory with her third kill of the set.
Third Set
- Lees-McRae held the advantage early in the third set as King used three straight points to take a 14-12 lead.
- A kill from Tristyn Lozano gave King a 16-13 lead and forced a Lees-McRae timeout before at Thele kill put the Tornado ahead 19-14 and forced the second Bobcat timeout of the set.
- Later, Thele gave King a chance at match point and Emma Carico gave the Tornado the 25-21 victory for the sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Thele led King with 12 kills and hit .417 in the match.
- Kayley Holtzclaw followed with seven kills and hit .636. She added five blocks, including two solo.
- Keri Ricker handed out 27 assists and added 12 digs.
- Lozano also posted 12 digs and added five kills.
- Sydney Pigage followed with 11 digs and Cathy Scaniffe posted 10 digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Caitlyn Smirne led Lees-McRae with eight kills and 10 digs.
- Lex Zangari and Abby Wordsworth posted six kills each.
- Megan Gallion handed out 13 assists while Kaitlyn Arentz and Mahealani Chun posted 10 digs each.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The win gives King a share of the Conference Carolinas West Division title. The Tornado will be the top seed in the west in the upcoming Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship.
- King last won the Conference Carolinas North Division title in 2014 and 2015 while winning the regular season league title in 2013.
- The double-double of Ricker is her 12th of the season.
UP NEXT
- Both teams will be in action on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. in a Conference Carolinas Tournament quarterfinal match.
- The Tornado will be at home in the Student Center Complex while the Bobcats will be on the road.
