SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University volleyball team lost a hard-fought match to King on Tuesday night inside the Weisiger Center 3-2 (24-26, 15-25, 25-18, 26-24, 15-10).
 
Converse (6-9, 3-4 CC) has now lost two straight matches on their home court. The Valkyries out blocked King (9-7, 4-1 CC) 8-4 on the night and Converse recorded 83 digs in the loss. Meanwhile, recorded 15 aces in the victory over the Valkyries.
 
In the opening set the two teams were deadlocked through the first 20-points of the match. The score remained closed throughout the period, with neither yielding an inch to the other. Then it appeared that the Valkyries might have found a little spurt of momentum as they clung to a 24-22 edge over the Tornado. With set point within reach the Tornado snatched the first set away from the Valkyries with a 4-0 run to end the period.
 
King came out swinging in the second set, as they took an 11-5 lead over the Valkyries early in the set. Converse began to work their way back into the set and clawed back within a point at 13-12. King once again used a late run to take all the momentum out of the building as they won the second set 25-15.
 
Through the first 20-points of the third stanza the two squads found themselves once again deadlocked at 10. Moments later the Valkyries offense started to click and they raced out to a 19-13 advantage. Just like in the first set the Valkyries needed to fight off a late run by the Tornado. This time, Converse kept the momentum and ended the period on a 5-0 run to extend the match.
 
In the fourth period Converse raced out to a 10-4 advantage over the Torando. Despite the early lead the Valkyries were unable to put King away in the fourth set and the Tornado began to chip away at the Valkyries lead. Deadlocked at 22, the Valkyries settled down and took the set with a kill by Evelyn Fitz and a block by AC Garbade and Maddie Mount.
 
In the fifth set the Valkyries were unable to keep the momentum going from the third and fourth periods, as King raced to an 8-3 advantage. Trailing 12-6 the Valkyries once again showed life as they battled back to within a pair of points at 12-10. King scored the final three points of the match to silence the hostile crowd inside the Weisiger Center.
 
Anna Rabon finished with a double-double and a team high in both kills (15) and digs (22). Evelyn Fitz finished with 9 kills and 10 digs, while Gracie Crocker led the team with 4 total blocks on the night. Savannah Ducote finished with a team high 19 assists and Mackenzie Day finished second on the team with 17 digs.
 
Converse will stay at home this weekend with matches against Belmont Abbey and UNC Pembroke. For more information on the Converse volleyball team, log onto govalkyries.com today.
 
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