BANNER ELK, N.C. – The King University men's volleyball team defeated Lees-McRae in the regular season finale to clinch a spot in the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament.
THE BASICS
FINAL SOCRE: King 3 – Lees-McRae 0 (25-17, 32-30, 25-19)
LOCATION: Williams Gymnasium; Banner Elk, N.C.
RECORDS: King 4-22, 4-10 CC | Lees-McRae 3-23, 2-12 CC
HOW IT HAPPENED
- King scored the first two points of the match before Dalton Claiborne got the first kill for the Tornado.
- King led for the entirety of the first set and won it 25-17. Claiborne had a set-high 4 kills while Grayson Stoudt had two service aces. As a team, King had 4.0 blocks with Stoudt having 1.5 himself.
- Second two again began with a 2-0 lead for the Tornado, and while the game remained close, the Bobcats took a lead. Lees-McRae had as much as a 6-point lead at 19-13 before King called a timeout.
- Out of the timeout, King closed the gap with a 6-2 scoring run that included a kill and an ace from Sean Haberthy.
- King tied the match at 23 before the marathon of extra points began. Kills from Justin Sawyer, Haberthy and Colton Bueter put King at a 31-30 lead before Stoudt sealed the second set victory with a service ace.
- Bueter had four kills while Sawyer had three. Haberthy and Stoudt each had aces in critical times in the match.
- Set three had both teams neck and neck but Lees-McRae edged out to a four point lead at 12-8. King tied it at 14 after another 6-2 run that included a block from Sawyer, Stoudt, and Claiborne, as well as Stoudt's four ace of the match.
- With back to back kills from Stoudt and Claiborne, King took a 21-19 lead before Claiborne had two more kills and a kill from Justin Sawyer secured the sweep.
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Dalton Claiborne had 10 kills, 2 assists, and 2 block assists.
- Colton Bueter had 7 kills, a team-high 18 receptions and 2 block assists.
- Grayson Stoudt was a crucial piece of the King defense with a season-high 7 total blocks with 1 solo and 6 assists. He also had a season-high 4 service ace.
- JP Ribeiro had 23 assists to put him at 422 total assists in conference matches this season.
UP NEXT
The King University men's volleyball team will await the announcement of the final seeding for the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament to find out who they will play in the first round.
