ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team prepares for two road contests against West Virginia State Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and King on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
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LIVE COVERAGE
The West Virginia State Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Tuesday's match. The King University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Wednesday's game.
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SERIES HISTORY
West Virginia State: WVSU leads 25-24
King: King leads 12-2
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LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINS WEST VIRGINIA STATE
September 26, 2023: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 18, 2022: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Institute, W.Va.)
September 20, 2022: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 26, 2021: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
September 28, 2021: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Institute, W.Va.)
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LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST KING
September 12, 2023: Concord 3 – King 2 (Athens, W.Va.)
September 7, 2018: King 3 – Concord 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
August 24, 2018: King 3 – Concord 0 (Petersburg, Va.)
October 10, 2017: King 3 – Concord 0 (Bristol, Tenn.)
October 11, 2016: Concord 3 – King 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
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CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 14-9
MEC Record: 4-5
Home Record: 5-5
Away Record: 4-3
Neutral Record: 5-1
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CHASING THE RECORD BOOK
Freshman outside hitter
Meg Williams is closing in on a milestone that would cement her name in the Concord record book. Williams has collected 329 kills this season, which is 10 kills away from cracking the top 10 in a single season in program history. She is no stranger to the record book, as she tied Amber Miller's program record of 25 kills in a single game against King on September 12. Williams is trying to pass Holley Kimbrell's 339 kills from the 1999 season which ranks 10
th all-time. Of the top 10 single-season kills in program history, only one was done during a freshman season, Kimbrell's 339.
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FRESHMAN ACES
The Mountain Lions have recorded at least four service aces in six of their last seven games and have recorded double-digit aces in two games during that stretch. Freshman setter
Paige Richmond leads CU in aces with 45 on the season and ranks third in the MEC with 0.55 aces per set. Freshman setter
Declyn Tooze is second on the team in aces with 34 and sixth in the conference averaging 0.41 aces per set. Richmond tied the program record for aces in a single game with eight in Concord's victory over Glenville State. Over the Mountain Lions' last seven games, Richmond has led or tied for the lead in service aces in four matches.
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PREVIOUS MATCHUPS
Concord dropped the first meeting this season against West Virginia State 3-0. In the match, Williams and senior middle hitter
Kyndra Pilant swung for seven kills each, while freshman outside hitter
Chloe Thompson added six kills. Tooze led CU with 13 assists while also tallying eight digs and an ace. Concord won a five-set thriller over King in the Carter Center on September 12. In the match, Williams recorded a career-high 25 kills, one of her five 20 kill matches on the season. Thompson posted a double-double finishing with 15 kills and 11 digs. Additionally, Richmond set her career-high in assists with 36 against the Tornado and Tooze served up a career-best four aces.
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WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 18-4
MEC Record: 8-1 (First MEC South)
Home Record: 8-0
Away Record: 7-1
Neutral Record: 3-3
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SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
As a team, WVSU ranks either first or second in every statistical category besides digs in which they rank fourth in the MEC. The Yellow Jackets hit .204 as a team when they faced CU earlier this season. In that game, senior outside hitter Jacklyn Simms had 15 kills, six digs, and two blocks. Simms (3.76) and senior middle hitter Diamond'Nique Young (3.66) rank inside the top 10 in the conference in kills per set. Both also fall inside the top 10 in hitting percentage in the MEC with Young hitting .321 (third) and Simms hitting .299 (seventh). Senior setter Kiersten Eggleton is fourth in the conference in both assists per set (8.86) and aces per set (0.45)
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KING AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 7-13
Conference Carolinas Record: 4-7
Home Record: 4-6
Away Record: 3-5
Neutral Record: 0-2
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SCOUTING THE TORNADO
King is second in Conference Carolinas with 2.08 service aces per set. Senior outside hitter Hailee Blankenship is first in the conference averaging 0.61 aces per set and sophomore middle hitter Chloe Clayton trails her with 0.57 aces per set. When the Tornado and the Mountain Lions met earlier this season, King served six aces in the match with three coming from Blankenship. Blankenship also leads the team in kills (261) and digs (214). Sophomore middle hitter Riley Nelson leads the Tornado in blocks (41) and is third in the conference in blocks per set (0.87).
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