GREENWOOD, S.C. – Converse University junior
Ella Ruckman tied her career high in kills on Thursday evening, although it was not enough as the Valkyries fell to Lander 3-1 inside Horne Arena.
With the loss the Valkyries drop to 0-1 on the season, while Lander improves to 1-0 on the season. This is the first time in three seasons that the Valkyries have dropped their season opener. Entering the match tonight the Bearcats had won 47 straight sets against the Valkyries, with a 29-27 third set win the Valkyries ended the 20-year streak.
Lander opened the first set on a 7-2 run against the Valkyries and eventually built a 14-5 lead against Converse. The Valkyries rallied and fought back with a 7-2 run of their own and held the momentum against the Bearcats. Converse continued to keep within striking distance but they were unable to complete the comeback as they dropped the opening set 25-20.
Converse opened up the second set on a 5-0 run against the Bearcats. However, the Bearcats countered with an 8-1 run to take back the early advantage. Midway through the period, Lander took a 17-12 lead over Converse. The Valkyries fought back and pulled within a pair of points at 20-18. Converse continued to hold the momentum and trailed 23-22 late in the second stanza. Despite the Valkyries best efforts, Lander won the final two points of the set to take a 2-0 lead over Converse.
In the third set the two teams were tied through the first 14 points of the period. Converse made the first move and took an early 10-7 lead over the Bearcats. Lander countered with a run of their own and held a 14-12 advantage a few moments later. Trailing 23-19 late in the third period, the Valkyries began to lock in and battle back against Lander. Converse faced match point at 24-21 but the Valkyries won five straight points to take back the lead at 25-24. The two teams went back-and-forth till the Bearcats held a 27-26 advantage late in the third. Converse once again rallied as Ruckman and
Alayah Robertson hammered three straight kills to steal the third set away from Lander.
Converse opened up the fourth set on an 8-2 run against the Bearcats. A few moments later Lander tied the match at 10. The two teams remained deadlocked throughout the fourth period and appeared to be heading towards extra volleyball with score tied at 22. Lander won the final three points of the set to win the match.
Converse finished with 60 points, 47 kills, 6 aces, 7 blocks, 43 assists and 82 digs. The Valkyries had a game high 15 kills in the third set on Thursday evening. Ruckman led the team with 13 kills,
Bree Lyons finished second on the team with 11 kills and
Ariel Bryant finished third on the team with 7 kills.
Alayah Robertson led the team with four blocks,
Ariana Bryant and Ruckman both finished second on the team with three blocks each.
Alysha Arroyo finished with a double-double with a team high 35 assists and 13 digs.
Scarlett Xiong led the team with 31 digs on the evening and
Samiya Bolton finished third on the team with 9 digs.
Next Up:
Converse will be back on the road this weekend with a pair of games at Lander against UVA Wise and Lee University. The first match is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon followed by the second match at 3:00 p.m.
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