BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's volleyball team opened Conference Carolinas play on Tuesday night with a memorable match against 2020 league champion North Greenville University. The Tornado dropped the first two sets, but fought back behind a balanced offensive attack to take the reverse sweep 3-2.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, North Greenville 2 (19-25, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-8)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 6-8, 1-0 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 5-3, 0-1 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- King opened up a two-point lead following a block from Aaron Milstead and Jack Sarnowski before an ace from Jackson Carroll early in the set.
- King held that lead before North Greenville went on a 5-1 run to take a 9-7 lead.
- The Crusaders held the advantage and took a 19-15 lead following a 4-1 run that forced a King timeout.
- King couldn't recover as North Greenville took the set 25-19.
Second Set
- The Tornado got off to a hot start, scoring the first four points of the set.
- The King lead grew to 12-7 before the Crusaders started to chip away.
- North Greenville used a 5-1 run to even the score at 17 before a kill from Carroll and block from AJ Drooker and Milstead gave the lead back to King.
- The Crusaders later scored three straight points to take a 22-21 lead before another Carroll kill.
- North Greenville then scored three of the final four points after the tie at 22 to take the set 25-23.
Third Set
- North Greenville grabbed the early lead, and extended the advantage to 16-11 before back-to-back Tornado points.
- Trailing 18-13, King used a 7-2 run to even the score at 20 following three straight points, the first two on a Kennedy kill and Warren Davis ace.
- Back-to-back kills from Davis gave King a 24-23 lead. Davis gave King the lead again with another kill before a block from Kennedy and Sarnowski gave King the 26-24 win.
Fourth Set
- King and North Greenville traded points the entire set until a kill and a block from Davis gave King a 23-21 lead.
- However, North Greenville scored the next two points to even the score.
- King bounced back with a Kennedy kill and block from Kennedy and Drooker to take the set 25-23 and force a fifth set.
Fifth Set
- King kept the momentum going in the fifth set, scoring the first four points and Davis posted two kills around blocks from Kennedy and Drooker and Kennedy and Davis.
- The Tornado advantage grew to 9-3 following a pair of Drooker kills and block from Milstead and Sarnowski.
- King held the lead there before back-to-back Davis kill led to a Kennedy kill that gave King the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kennedy paced the offense with 15 kills and a .619 attack percentage. He added seven blocks, including one solo stuff.
- Carroll posted a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs.
- Davis added 15 kills, five digs and three blocks.
- Drooker chipped in with 10 kills, seven digs and five blocks.
- Sarnowski handed out 57 assists to go along with nine digs and three blocks.
- Justin Sawyer anchored the back row with 10 digs.
FOR THE FOES
- Emanuel Adames posted 20 kills and a .581 attack percentage.
- Michael de la Cruz followed with 17 kills and a .484 attack percentage.
- Diego Rosich added 12 kills and 13 digs while Tom Curry posted 11 kills and 12 digs.
- Jorge Riesgo handed out 64 assists while Jackson Chadwell added 12 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King hit .354 in the match, their second-best output of the season.
- The Tornado have hit over .300 in four matches, all coming in the last six matches.
UP NEXT
- King remains at home to face Emmanuel College at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night before taking on Erskine College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
- North Greenville hosts Barton College on Friday and the University of Mount Olive on Saturday.
