Concord University and Bluefield College aren't conference foes, but they are geographic rivals. The two schools are only separated by about 20 miles.
There's not much separation between them on the volleyball court, either.
The Mountain Lions defeated the Lady Rams in five sets at Bluefield September 10. On Monday night, they played a four-set match in which the two squads were separated by just nine total points and two of the sets went into overtime.
Concord ended its eight-match losing streak with a 28-30, 25-19, 28-26, 25-22 victory at the Carter Center.
With a better finish in the first set, the Mountain Lions may have had a sweep.
Concord led 24-21 only to see Bluefield College rally to score the next four points. A kill from CU's Kayla Martin tied the set at 25, and, later, a kill by Tori Fornadel put Concord ahead 28-27.
But the Lady Rams recovered to score three straight points and take the set.
Concord moved out to a 17-12 lead in the second set, forcing Bluefield College to call a timeout. The Lady Rams responded by tying the set at 18-18, but an Emily Wilson kill put the Mountain Lions ahead.
Later, Tori Fornadel and Amber Wilson combined to “roof” an attempted Rams attack to put CU ahead 23-19, and Concord closed out the set from there.
The third set was thrilling. Bluefield College held a 23-20 advantage late in the set, but Concord began its comeback on a “roof” by Martin and Helen Thiesen, followed by a Martin kill.
A CU service error gave the Lady Rams a set point at 24-22, but Martin equalized things with a kill and a block on the next two points.
A Concord misplay gave BC another set point, but the Rams returned the favor to equal the score at 25-25.
The Rams won the next point, then Wilson took command.
The junior from Hurricane resembled a force of nature, flooring three straight kills to lift Concord to the set victory.
For an encore, the two teams staged an exhilarating fourth set in which neither side led by more than two points. With the set tied at 24, Fornadel got down a tip kill off an assist by Thiesen to give Concord match point. Fornadel and Wilson constructed one more “roof” to block a BC spike and shut down the visitors.
A major factor in bringing the losing streak to a halt was a simple one, according to Concord head coach
Kate Southcott: “We finished, for a change. Enough said.”
Concord was balanced, front to back, on Monday night.
Four players finished with double-digit kills: Wilson (15), Martin (14), Fornadel (13) and Miller (11).
Four players finished with double-digit digs: Miller (24), Wilson (23), senior libero Kelly Newberry (20) and Thiesen (16).
Fueling the front line were strong assist numbers from Thiesen (31) and Meredith Shifley (22).
The Mountain Lions continue a busy week with a visit to Davis & Elkins for a WVIAC match at 7:00 pm Wednesday.
Concord returns to the Carter Center for two weekend matches roughly 14 hours – against Glenville State at 7:00 pm Friday and against West Virginia Wesleyan at 9:30 am Saturday.
