SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University volleyball team fell 3-1 (15-25, 27-29, 27-25, 25-20) to North Greenville on Saturday afternoon inside the Weisiger Center.
Converse (6-8, 3-3 CC) went toe-to-toe with North Greenville (9-7, 6-0) but a few errors in each set proved to be costly for the Valkyries in the end. The match had 20 combined tied scores and had 10 lead changes with the exception of the fourth set.
In the opening set the two squads were deadlocked through the first 16 points of the match, before Converse used a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead in the set. The momentum was short lived however as the Crusaders called a key timeout to halt the Valkyries offensive assault. North Greenville finished the period on a 15-1 run to take the opening set.
Converse held the momentum in the early moments of the second set as they raced out to a 5-1 advantage over North Greenville. Midway through the period the Crusaders used a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 lead over Converse. For the remainder of the period the two teams went back-and-forth until Converse pulled away with a 3-0 spurt late in the stanza. Holding a 25-24 edge the Valkyries looked to end the period on a 4-0 run, but Paige Campbell registered a kill for the Crusaders to tie the set once again.
Megan Carpenter then recorded a kill to give Converse a 26-25 lead once again, but the Crusaders broke the hearts of Valkyries fans as they went on to win the set 29-27 and took a pivotal 2-0 lead in the match.
At the start of the third period the Converse offense raced out to an 8-2 lead and forced North Greenville to waste an early timeout. Despite holding a large lead numerous times in the period, Converse was unable to put away the pesky Crusaders offense. North Greenville chipped away at the Valkyries lead and eventually took a 22-21 lead in the set. Converse responded and had set point at 24-22 but once again the Crusaders countered with a late run of their own. Tied at 25 the Valkyries won the final two points of the set to extend the match.
In the fourth set the two teams stayed close throughout the entire period but the Valkyries were unable to put together a late run. North Greenville went on to win the final set 25-20.
Jasmine Finkley once again led the Valkyries with 17 kills and five total blocks in the match.
Evelyn Fitz finished with nine kills in the game,
Savannah Ducote recorded a double-double with a 26 assist, 14 dig performance.
Mackenzie Day finished with a team 17 digs,
Anna Rabon recorded 16 digs and
Madison Gregory finished second on the day with 10 assists in the match.
Next Up:
Converse will host King on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. inside the Weisiger Center.
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