Concord Outlasts Charleston in Five-Set Thriller

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team took down Charleston 3-2 in a Mountain East Conference contest held at the Carter Center Friday evening.
 
CU improves to 7-9 overall on the season and 2-1 against MEC competition while Charleston falls to 11-4 overall and 1-2 in the league. The final set scores were 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, and 15-8.
 
Set 1
The Mountain Lions grabbed an early 6-1 lead on a pair of blocks by senior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant. Sophomore outside hitters Chloe Thompson and Meg Williams also joined in for kills during the opening run. Williams and sophomore middle hitter Jasmine Anderson put a stop to a UC run with a block to bring the score to 8-6. The Golden Eagles would grab the lead, but not for long as Williams and Thompson went back-to-back to knot the score 10-10. Then, Pilant swung for three kills as part of a 5-1 CU run to grab the advantage, 14-13. With the frame tied 16-16, Concord scored five straight points and would eventually close the set to take a 1-0 lead. The spurt was led by blocks from sophomore right side Natalie Brown and Anderson.  
 
Set 2
Charleston led by as much as four early in the second set, but it was a pair of Golden Eagles attack errors that kept CU within two, 6-4. Thompson and freshman right side Maddie Stull hit for back-to-back kills as Concord still trailed by one. Stull added another kill later in the set, but it was Charleston that tied the match 1-1, 25-21.
 
Set 3
Both teams traded points to begin the third game, but it was a 5-0 run that propelled the Mountain Lions to an 8-3 edge. During the run, sophomore setter Declyn Tooze served up two aces while Williams hammered a kill. Then, Tooze swung for a kill of her own and sophomore setter Paige Richmond served an additional ace to grab a six-point advantage 13-7. Williams, Brown, and Thompson added kills as the teams traded points once again. Williams crushed the final two kills for CU as it regained the lead the in the match, 25-22.
 
Set 4
Williams, Brown, and Pilant got Concord kickstarted in the fourth frame of action to jump out to a 5-3 lead. A kill from Anderson cooled a four-point UC swing as the Maroon and Gray trailed 11-7. Tooze served up another ace in response to a pair of Charleston runs, 16-13. Then, down 23-15, Concord rattled off six straight to come within two, 23-21. Four of the six points were Golden Eagles' attack errors, as well as two kills from Pilant. However, the scoring run was not enough as Charleston forced a fifth set, 25-21.
 
Set 5
After UC grabbed a 4-2 edge early in the frame, CU scored seven straight points to jump back ahead by five, 9-4. Thomson swung for a pair of kills and Tooze served an ace during the spurt. After the benches swapped, Tooze served the last of her five aces in the contest to cap off the run. Thompson came up clutch, swinging for a kill and serving an ace two rallies later to go up by seven, 12-5. Stull and Williams added the finishing touches as CU would defeat Charleston, 15-8.  
 
Match Stats
As a team, the Mountain Lions hit over .200 in four of the five sets played and finished with a total team hitting percentage of .200. Williams clinched a double-double, leading CU with 15 kills and 16 digs. Pilant totaled 13 kills and nine total blocks, a new career-high. Brown also reached a new career-high in blocks, swatting away six Golden Eagles' attacks. Richmond finished with 33 assists, while Tooze added 20 assists and five service aces. Friday evening marked the first win for CU over Charleston since the 2016 season, snapping a 16-game losing streak.
 
The Mountain Lions hit the road to face UVa.-Wise in a non-conference game Saturday at 7:00 p.m.