Concord Defeats Mercer County Rival Bluefield State 3-0

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team swept Mercer County rival Bluefield State 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Ned Shott Gymnasium.
 
FINAL SCORE: Concord 3 – Bluefield State 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21)
 
Set 1
The Big Blues opened the scoring and took a four-point lead 11-7. Back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Meg Williams and a 7-1 Mountain Lion run would put CU ahead 14-12. Senior middle hitter Kydra Pilant collected three kills late in the set to secure Concord the first set, 25-20.
 
Set 2
A pair of 4-0 runs for the Mountain Lions gave them an early five-point advantage, 12-7. A late scoring run by Bluefield State would be shut down by freshman outside hitter Chloe Thompson, who put the Mountain Lions ahead by three, 18-15. The Big Blues steadily remained at a one-point deficit, but a trio of attack errors from BSU gave Concord the 2-0 advantage by a score of 25-21.
 
Set 3
Back-to-back-to-back aces from freshman setter Paige Richmond would give CU a fast 3-0 start. A pair of kills from Thompson gave CU the advantage, 7-5. A 4-0 run followed as it was started by freshman right side Natalie Brown wo extended the Mountain Lion lead 12-9. Back-to-back-to-back kills from Thompson would put Concord ahead for good, as Meg Williams sealed Concord's eighth victory of the season, 25-21.
 
Match Stats
Williams led all players with 16 kills on the match, paired with 11 digs. This marks Williams' fourth double-double of the season. Thompson also reached double digits with 12 kills. Richmond led CU with 17 assists and also picked up five aces. Freshman setter Declyn Tooze had 15 assists and seven digs in the match. Freshman defensive specialist Allie Davis led all players in digs with 15 total.
 
Concord returns to the Carter Center Sunday morning as they face Virginia State at 11:00 a.m.