SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University volleyball team fed off a sold out crowd at the Tom & Tracy Hannah Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon as the Valkyries picked up a 3-1 (13-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19) win over North Greenville University.
Converse (1-10, 1-1 CC) got off to a slow start in the opening set and found themselves down 15-2 through the first 17-points of the game. North Greenville (6-6, 2-2 CC) was able to silence the crowd and take the opening set behind a .296 hitting percentage.
In the second set the two teams stayed even for the early moments of the set, with each team splitting the first 12-points. Following a tie at 6-6 the Crusaders looked as if they would once again run away with the set after a 10-3 run. Trailing 17-11, the Valkyries pulled off one of the biggest runs of the season going on a 9-0 spurt and sending the crowd into a frenzy. With a 20-17 lead the Valkyries never vanquished the lead the remainder of the set, winning 25-22.
Feeding off the energy from the crowd, the Valkyries opened the third stanza with a 6-3 advantage over the Crusaders. Converse continued to put the pressure on North Greenville and used a pair of runs to pull ahead 18-11 midway through the stanza. Then the Crusaders began to chip away at the Valkyries lead and forced Converse to call a timeout at 19-16. The Valkyries handled the pressure and held off a pair of late rallies by the Crusaders as senior
Elizabeth Yohe scored the final point of the third set for the Valkyries.
In the fourth set the Valkyries began the set on an 11-5 run and never looked back. Converse never trailed in the fourth set and won 25-19, while hitting .333 for the set.
The Valkyries defense was in full force throughout the match as they out blocked North Greenville 16-5. The 16 team blocks set a new school record for total blocks in a match and in a four-set match.
Jasmine Finkley had a school record breaking 8 total blocks in the contest, while
Kiara Cannon finished second in total blocks in a four-set match with 7. Freshmen
Maddie Mount added 6 blocks in the win.
The Valkyries set the school record for points in a match with 61 on Saturday afternoon.
Anna Rabon led the team with 11 kills in the match, Cannon added 10 kills and Mount registered 8 kills in the win.
Savanah Ducote posted a team high 24 assists and
Madison Gregory added an additional 12 assists for the Valkyries. Yohe led the team with 22 digs and moved into second place on the school's all-time career digs list with 1,376.
Mackenzie Day finished with 9 digs and Ducote added 7 digs.
Next Up:
Converse will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to the Volunteer State to battle King University. First serve is set for 3:00 p.m. in Bristol, Tenn.
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