SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse Volleyball team dropped their first home match in over a month on Friday night, when they lost 3-2 to Erskine inside the Weisiger Center.
With the loss the Valkyries ended a seven match home winning streak, a nine match conference winning streak and a six match overall winning streak dating back to the end of September. Converse is now 13-6 overall and 9-3 in Conference Carolinas play this season. Erskine improves to 6-14 overall and 4-8 in Conference Carolinas action.
Converse opened the first set on a 7-2 run against the Flying Fleet and eventually built an 11-4 advantage over Erskine. The Valkyries continued to power past Erskine, holding a 16-5 lead midway through the set. Then Erskine came alive and used a 12-4 run to get back in the opening set against the Valkyries. Thankfully, Converse closed out the opening period on a 5-1 run, taking the first set by a final score of 25-18.
In the second set, the Valkyries fell behind 6-3 against the Flying Fleet. Converse battled back and held their first lead of the set at 11-10. The Valkyries continued to hold a slight edge over Erskine throughout the second set. Holding an 18-16 advantage over Erskine, the Flying Fleet made their move against the Valkyries. A three-point spurt gave Erskine a 19-18 lead late in the second set, but the Valkyries bounced back by winning back-to-back points.
Once again Converse held a 22-21 edge over Erskine, the Flying Fleet used a 3-0 run to take a 24-22 lead over the Valkyries. Converse erased a pair of set points with a kill by
Ella Ruckman and a service ace by
Alayah Robertson. Erskine won the last two points of the set to tie the match at one set each.
In the third set the two teams were deadlocked through the first 18 points of the period. A four-point run by Erskine gave the Flying Fleet the first lead of the set at 13-9. Converse fell behind 16-12 but rallied with three straight points to pull within a point of Erskine. Later in the set, the Valkyries trailed 21-17 but once again Converse rallied to tie the set at 21. However, Erskine closed out the third period on a 4-1 run and went up two sets to one over the Valkyries.
In the fourth set the Valkyries came alive as they raced out to a 9-2 lead over Erskine. Just like the opening set, the Valkyries held a 17-4 advantage and held all the momentum in the set. Erskine attempted a late rally, but Converse won the fourth period by a final score of 25-14.
In the final set, Converse opened up the period on a 5-2 run and eventually held an 8-6 advantage as they switched sides midway through the set. The Valkyries appeared to be in control up 11-8 over the Flying Fleet, but then Erskine tied the match by winning the next three points. Converse fought back and held a 14-12 advantage over Erskine, but the Flying Fleet erased the two point deficit and forced the match to continue. Erskine ended up surviving four match points and tied the match at 17. The Flying Fleet won the last three points of the match and stole the fifth set by a final score of 19-17.
Converse finished with 80 points, 64 kills, 10 aces, 6 blocks, 58 assists and 85 digs.
Megan Carpenter and
Alayah Robertson both finished with a team high 12 ills in the loss, while
Ella Ruckman contributed 10 kills.
Alysha Arroyo finished with a team high 34 assists, while
Jayden Johnson finished second on the team with 14 assists.
Lilli Redifer led the team with 20 digs,
Noemia Chiacchio was second on the team with 15 digs and Arroyo was third on the team with 13 digs.
Next Up:
The Converse volleyball team will hit the road this week with a midweek matchup with Emmanuel on Wednesday evening. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
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