Concord Drops Opening Games at Mount Olive Invite

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The Concord University volleyball team lost its first two games against Shaw and Lenoir-Rhyne at the Mount Olive Invite in Mount Olive, N.C. Friday afternoon.
 

Game 1: Shaw 3 – Concord 1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 19-25, 13-15)
 

The Mountain Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead with help from sophomore right side Natalie Brown and senior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant. Sophomore outside hitter Meg Williams and sophomore middle hitter Jasmine Anderson added kills to strengthen the CU lead, 8-3. Then, the Mountain Lions fended off an impending Shaw run with another kill; from Williams, bringing the score to 15-9. The difference in the set was a 4-0 Concord run that opened up the Maroon and Gray's biggest lead of the game, 21-12. Pilant hammered home two kills to give CU the 1-0 advantage, 25-22.
 

Two kills from Brown, along with a service ace from sophomore setter Declyn Tooze saw Concord grab a 7-2 lead in set two. Brown's third kill of the frame brought the score to 12-8. But Shaw spearheaded a 13-point swing to grab the lead, despite three more kills from Brown to quiet the Bears. A late kill from freshman right side Maddie Stull was not enough, as Shaw evened the match 1-1.
 

Both teams traded points to get the third game underway, but a pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Chloe Thompson kickstarted a 3-0 run that gave Concord a 9-7 edge. Thompson added another kill to grow the margin to three, tying the largest lead of the frame, 11-8. With the game tied 16-16, Thompson swung for her fourth kill paired with an ace from sophomore defensive specialist Allie Davis that brought CU's lead back to three, 19-16. Two kills in crunch time from Brown held off the Bears' comeback attempt, 25-23.
 

Just as SU jumped out to a 3-1 lead, Concord went on a 5-0 scoring run that was led by a pair of blocks from Anderson that put the Mountain Lions in front 6-3. Later in the set, Williams put a stop to a 3-0 Shaw run to protect the CU lead, 12-10. After Shaw tied the game, Williams swung for back-to-back kills to give Concord its two-point edge back. Subsequent Shaw runs of four and three points forced a winner-take-all frame by a final of 25-19.
 

Just like the third set, the fifth set got underway with traded points before Williams put CU ahead, 6-4. Thompson gave CU the lead back after the sides swapped, 9-8. Shaw regained the lead once again but was halted when Brown and Williams knotted the frame, 12-12. Shaw would eventually close out the match, 15-13.
 

Brown hit for a new career-high of 16 kills and added three blocks. Williams claimed another double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs to lead all Concord defenders. Thomspon also reached double-digit kills with 12. Sophomore setter Paige Richmond assisted on a season-high 28 points followed by Tooze who had 16. Defensively, Anderson led CU with a career-best five total blocks.
 

Game 2: Lenoir-Rhyne 3 – Concord 0 (22-25, 19-25, 22-25)
 

The Bears and Mountain Lions jockeyed for the lead early in the opening set, but a kill from Williams saw Concord grab a 6-5 lead. After the Bears scored two straight points, Brown answered with two kills of her own to put the Mountain Lions back on top, 8-7. Later in the set, freshman setter Rylee Wise served back-to-back aces to cut into Lenoir-Rhyne's lead, but was unable to complete the comeback, 25-22. Four different Mountain Lions logged at least three kills in the frame.
 

Kills from Pilant and Williams gave the Maroon and Gray the early edge, 4-2. Freshman middle hitter Ella Moss' collected her first kill as CU and LRU traded points. Later in the set, Pilant scored three points in a row alongside another kill from Moss kept the Mountain Lions closed as they trailed 14-12. The Bears never led by more than three until they reached the 20-point mark, as they took a 2-0 match lead, 25-19.  
 

LRU started fast in set three, but a pair of kills from Williams and Thompson kept Concord within one. Anderson answered a 5-0 Lenoir-Rhyne run with back-to-back kills, bringing the score to 15-8. CU made a late push, scoring five straight points to come within one, 20-19. During the run, Brown smashed two kills, while Pilant added one kill, one ace, and an assisted block. Wise served another ace and Stull collected her second kill on the afternoon, but LRU closed out the match 25-22.
 

Williams led all Mountain Lions with 11 kills in the game while Pilant added 10. Richmond tallied 20 assists and Wise finished with 14 assists and three aces. Davis led all players with 19 digs and added one ace.
 

Concord wraps up the Mount Olive Invite against Mount Olive at 12:00 p.m. and Edinboro at 4:00 p.m. Saturday at Kornegay Arena.