BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Tornado dominated on Sunday afternoon to take a straight sets win over Converse. The win is the sixth-straight win for the Tornado, and their 13th consecutive conference win, a streak that dates to last season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King University 3, Converse University 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-19)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 7-5, 2-0 Conference Carolinas; Converse 1-11, 1-2 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- The Valkyries started the match on a 4-0 run that was terminated when Brittney Ramsey picked up a kill off a set pass from Georgia Davis.
- After Converse went up 7-1, the Tornado started to storm back, starting with a Hailee Blankenship kill that led into 4-1 King run.
- The Tornado took their first lead of the match a short time later, when Blankenship recorded another kill, putting King up 11-10. They wouldn't look back, as they took the set 25-20, withstanding a late Converse charge.
Second Set
- The second set started in the exact opposite way of the first, with the Tornado scoring the first five points and eventually opening up a 10-3 lead.
- Davis had a large part in the lead, recording three service aces.
- King would go on to score the final three points of the set, with Ward delivering a kill and the set-winning service ace, with a Davis kill sandwiched in between.
- King finished the set with a .393 attack percentage, with five service aces, three of which were courtesy of Davis.
Third Set
- King raced out to a 10-2 lead in the third set, thanks in part to four service aces from Blankenship.
- The Tornado stretched the lead to 20-8, when Converse started to claw their way back, going on a 10-0 run to get to a 21-16 deficit.
- The run came to a quick end on an attack error, which fed into the Tornado winning four of the final seven points to take the match.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Tornado finished the match with a .233 attack percentage, their highest of the season. Their 38 kills are the most for a three-set match this season.
- Blankenship had five service aces, which is a new career high.
- The 15 service aces for King are their most of the season, and the most since Sept. 8, 2018 when they had 21 against Bluefield State.
FOR THE FOES
- Jasmine Finkley had 10 kills on the match to lead the Valkyries, with an attack percentage of .417, both of which are career-highs.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will be on the road for their next couple of matches, starting Tuesday when they take on North Greenville at 7 p.m. They will be back at the Student Center on Oct. 2 when they host Southern Wesleyan.
- Converse is off until Friday, when they take on Southern Wesleyan in a road matchup before hosting Mount Olive the next afternoon.
