Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – The second seeded King University men's volleyball team opened the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship with a scare against seventh seed Emmanuel College in the quarterfinals. The Tornado won the first two sets, only to see the Lions come back and forth a fifth set. King held off two match points, scoring five of the final six points to take the set 17-15 on a Dalton Johnson block.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Emmanuel 2 (25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 17-15)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex, Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 19-9; Emmanuel 10-19
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- King got off to a hot start, hitting .400 in their 25-19 opening set win.
- The Tornado gained separation with four straight points, capped by a Sean Kohlhase ace that put King ahead 20-16.
- Back-to-back kills from Suetonius Harris gave King a chance at set point as a Lion miscue gave King the set.
Second Set
- King opened the second set with four straight points, and later opened up a 10-3 following another 4-0 spurt.
- Emmanuel chipped away at their deficit and eventually pulled within 22-21 with a 4-0 run.
- However, the teams traded points before Joshua Kim gave King the 25-23 win with his fifth kill of the set.
Third Set
- A block from Jon Wheaton and Kohlhase capped a 3-0 run and gave King a 3-1 lead early in the third set.
- However, the Lions came back with an 11-5 spurt, including four straight to take a 12-8 lead and force a King timeout.
- Out of the break, King came back and evened the score at 12 on a Johnson kill.
- The Tornado held the advantage until the Lions went on a 5-0 spurt, opening up a 20-16 lead.
- From there, Emmanuel outscored the Tornado to take the set 25-19.
Fourth Set
- The momentum carried over to the fourth set as the Lions scored the first three points.
- King came back to pull within 8-7, but Emmanuel answered with a 5-1 run that extended their advantage to 13-8.
- Four straight points, capped by a Harris ace pulled King within 17-16 and forced a Lion timeout.
- Kohlhase served up an ace, evening the score at 20, but the Lions scored five of the final eight points to take the set 25-23.
FIFTH SET
- Emmanuel opened the decisive set with a 6-3 lead before the Tornado started to chip away.
- King worked their way back and evened the score at 10, but Emmanuel scored four of the next six points to take a 14-12 lead.
- Kim evened the score at 14 with a kill, and Harris followed to give King a 15-14 lead.
- Following a Lion point, Harris posted a kill and Johnson came up with a block to give King the 17-15 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kim led the Tornado with 17 kills and 16 digs for the double-double.
- Kohlhase added 17 kills and seven digs.
- Harris chipped in with 14 kills and seven digs.
- Johnson accounted for eight kills, an attack percentage of .571 and five blocks, two solo.
- Chandler Christy handed out 36 assists and posted nine digs.
- Noah Melendez accounted for 14 digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Aleksa Lakic led Emmanuel with 18 kills and 15 digs.
- Don Thompson and Alejandro Robles added 15 kills each while Thompson added nine digs and four blocks.
- Jonathan Camacho chipped in with 10 kills.
- Demitrius Malone handed out 53 assists and added eight digs.
- Caleb Bonaventure posted 12 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The double-double for Kim is his fourth of the season. He accounted for a career-high 16 digs.
- Melendez's 14 kills set a career-high.
UP NEXT
- King will play the winner of sixth seed North Greenville University and third seed Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday.
- The Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship semifinals and final will take place at the highest remaining seed on Wednesday and Thursday night.
