Concord Starts Home Tournament with Pair of Victories over Kentucky State, Bluefield State

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team on both matches on the opening day of the Concord Classic Thursday at the Carter Center, securing victories over Kentucky State and Bluefield State.
 
Game 1: Concord 3 - Kentucky State 0
Concord (9-0) started red hot, winning the first set 25-7. The Mountain Lions continued that great form into the second set, taking it 25-9. In the third, Kentucky State (0-6) played much better, but it was still too much to overcome as CU took the set 25-22.
 
The Mountain Lions were their most efficient in the first set, hitting .478. Kentucky State did quite the opposite, as they struggled in the opener committing six errors, all on Concord blocks. The first-set success was fueled by two separate runs of 7-0.
 
The second set was another dominant display for Concord. They hit over .400 again and it was another run of seven straight points that closed out the set. Junior libero Allie Davis' serve was working in full effect, as she racked up four aces on the match, two of them coming in the second set.
 
In the closing set, KSU battled with Concord until a 4-0 run at 10-9 stretched the CU lead to five points. The comfortable advantage held up until Kentucky State made a charge and got within 21-19. A kill by freshman right side Alexis Stack was followed by a kill from sophomore right Maddie Stull and a service ace from sophomore setter Haley Sweeney.
 
Four different Mountain Lions had at least five kills, led by eight kills from junior outside hitter Chloe Thompson. Overall, 11 players had at least one kill. Junior outside hitter Meg Williams finished with five kills and nine digs.
 
Junior setter Paige Richmond notched 15 assists.
 
As a team, CU hit .375 with 35 kills and only eight errors.
 
Game 2: Concord 3 - Bluefield State 1
In their second game of the day, the Mountain Lions found their ninth straight victory of the season, taking down local rival Bluefield State (2-9). Concord once again started quickly, taking the first set 25-14. Bluefield State bounced back in the second set, as Concord lost their first set of the day, 25-18. The third saw the most evenly matched volleyball of the day, but the Mountain Lions prevailed 25-21. In the fourth set, the Mountain Lions were too much to handle, winning it 25-13.
 
The nightcap was led by Stull who tallied a career-best 17 kills, and eight blocks and freshman middle hitter Addison Adkins who tallied 11 kills and three blocks.
 
The first set was highlighted by Concord's dominance at the net as they tallied six blocks as a team. CU hit .333 in the opening game and only trailed at 1-0 as it rolled to a first-set win.
 
After falling 9-1 behind in the second, Concord clawed back to get within 18-16, but could never get all the way back as BSU evened the match.
 
In the third set, it was CU that started fast as Concord got out to a 6-1 edge to open the set, but BSU fought back. The Big Blues tied the set at 9-9 and 12-12, but four straight points that ended with consecutive kills from Stull gave Concord the edge it needed to close out the third set.
 
Stull led the charge for Concord in the fourth set as she notched three of her 17 kills in the game's final five points. The Mountain Lions jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set before holding BSU in the middle stages. CU finished the match on a 10-2 run.
 
Williams (10 kills) joined Adkins and Stull in double figures. Junior middle hitter Jasmine Anderson added eight kills and eight blocks. Richmond quietly went for a double-double of 26 assists and 11 digs. Thompson just missed her own double-double with eight kills and 17 digs. Davis racked up 20 digs.
 
The Mountain Lions return to action tomorrow during day two of the Concord Classic 7:00 p.m. Friday against Winston-Salem State.