Concord Edged in Five Sets at King

BRISTOL, Tenn. - The Concord University volleyball team was defeated by King, 3-2, Wednesday night in a non-conference match inside Kline Gymnasium.

Final Score: King 3, Concord 2 (20-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9)

Set 1
The Mountain Lions (14-11 4-5 MEC) jumped out to an early 9-2 lead over the Tornado (8-13 4-7 CC) with two kills coming from senior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant and one kill from senior middle hitter Csayjah Whitelow. A service ace from freshman outside hitter Meg Williams made the score 12-5 as CU maintained the seven-point advantage. Concord recorded four aces in the opening set with back-to-back aces from Pilant and an ace from freshman setter Declyn Tooze. Freshman outside hitter Chloe Thompson's kill closed out the first set 25-20. 

Set 2
CU found itself in an early 10-2 deficit, but fought back with two kills from Thompson and freshman right side Natalie Brown to climb within 13-9. Back-to-back blocks from Whitelow and Brown brought the Mountain Lions within two, 18-16. King evened the match 1-1 by a set score of 25-16. 

Set 3
An ace from Thompson and kills from Pilant and Whitelow knotted the early scoring 6-6. Subsequent back-to-back kills from Brown and Thompson gave Concord a four-point advantage, 10-6. Pilant rattled off three kills in a four-point swing to make the score 16-14. A final kill from Thompson gave CU a 2-1 lead in the game 25-22. 

Set 4
Three early frame kills from Thompson gave the Mountain Lions the edge, 10-6. Two kills from Thompson allowed Concord to go ahead 15-14. However, a late 3-0 spark from the Tornado would force a fifth set, 25-22. 

Set 5
Concord gained a quick 4-1 lead in the game-deciding set behind two kills from Pilant and one kill from Thompson. Two kills from Williams extended CU's lead 7-4. But, seven striaght points from King put the Tornado ahead 11-7. King completed the comeback, defeating the Mountain Lions in the winner-take-all game 15-9. 

Match Stats
Freshman defensive specialist Allie Davis set a new career high for digs in a match with 29. Thompson led CU kills and was one kill shy of her career mark with 19 kills paired with 10 digs for her eighth double-double. Pilant finished with 14 kills, six digs, four total blocks, and two aces in the match. Brown also notched double-digits as she swung for 10 kills. Tooze led Concord with 26 assists followed by freshman setter Paige Richmond who had 22 assists. Whitelow finished with six kills and five total blocks

The Mountain Lions head to Fairmont, W.Va. to take on Mountain East Conference North Divisoin foe Fairmont State Friday beginning at 7:00 p.m.