LORETTO, Pa. – For the second straight day the King University men's volleyball team took a come-from-behind win at Saint Francis University (Pa.), earning the 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 2-1, King took the fourth set in extra points, 27-25 before winning the fifth set 15-10 to take the victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Saint Francis 1 (20-25, 25-22, 24-26, 27-25, 15-10)
LOCATION: DeGol Arena; Loretto, Pa.
RECORDS: King 2-0; Saint Francis 1-4
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- The Red Flash opened up an 8-4 lead in the opening set and held that advantage throughout the set.
- King came back and pulled within 19-18 following a Joshua Kim service ace, but Saint Francis held off the Tornado to take the set 25-20.
Second Set
- Saint Francis again got off to a hot start in the second set, opening up an 8-5 lead before Kim got the Tornado offense going with a kill.
- He later evened the tally at 10 with another kill.
- Later in the set, Aaron Milstead came up with a kill and AJ Drooker gave King an 18-16 lead with a service ace.
- The Tornado held that lead and took the 25-22 victory on another Kim termination.
Third Set
- The momentum carried over to the third set for the Tornado as they opened up a 5-0 lead following a Diego Marcano kill.
- Saint Francis came back and evened the score at eight, however, as the teams started to trade points.
- The Red Flash gained a two-point advantage at 20-18, but back-to-back points for the Tornado, the second on a kill from Kim evened the score at 22.
- The score was again knotted at 24 before the Red Flash scored the final two points to take the set 26-24.
Fourth Set
- Kim got King off to a good start in the fourth set with a kill and Milstead put the Tornado ahead 4-1 with a service ace.
- The Tornado later led 8-4 following another Kim kill, but the Red Flash came back with a 5-0 run to take a 9-8 lead.
- Late in the set, King led 23-21 following a Kim kill, but Saint Francis came back and evened the score.
- Kim gave King the 27-25 victory with an ace as the match went to a fifth and decisive set.
Fifth Set
- A 3-0 run early in the set gave King the early advantage at 3-1.
- The Tornado made their move in the middle of the set as a 4-0 run turned a 9-8 lead into a 13-8 advantage.
- Milstead started the spurt with a pair of kills before Marcano and Milstead teamed up for a block.
- Marcano later gave King the 15-10 victory with a kill.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kim led the Tornado with 19 kills and seven digs.
- Marcano followed with seven kills, six digs and four blocks.
- Jackson Carroll added seven kills and seven digs.
- Drooker handed out 29 assists and added four digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Joshua Blair led Saint Francis with 23 kills while Zac Cabral added 15 kills and six blocks.
- Matthew Menosky registered a match-high nine digs and Roman Szwabinsky handed out 59 assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The wins on Friday and Saturday mark the second and third wins for the Tornado over an NCAA Division I school. Their last win over a Division I opponent came on March 11, 2010 when they defeated NJIT 3-2.
- That win over NJIT was also head coach Ryan Booher's first match leading the Tornado.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado are scheduled to play their home opener on Friday when they host Lindenwood University (Mo.). First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- Saint Francis hosts fifth-ranked Lewis University on Friday evening.
