King Fights Back From Behind To Take Down Barton In Five

Match Stats

• King def. Barton 3-2, (25-18, 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 17-15)
• King improves to 11-2, 6-1 CC
• Barton falls to 8-4, 7-2 CC

Press Release

Courtesy of King Athletics

Following a tough five set defeat on Friday night, the King University men’s volleyball team found themselves behind Barton College 2-1 on Saturday afternoon. The Tornado fought back to force a fifth set, and then took the fifth set 17-15 behind senior Eddie Moushikhian for the 3-2 victory.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Barton 2 (25-18, 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 17-15)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 11-2, 6-1 Conference Carolinas; Barton 8-4, 7-2 Conference Carolinas

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was tight throughout, until King broke a tie at 15 with three straight points with a Nick Drooker ace and Jeff Sprayberry kill.
• The Tornado then scored the final six points of the set, taking the frame 25-18. Jon Wheaton teamed up with Kiel Bell and Sprayberry for a pair of blocks on the spurt.
• Barton scored the first three points of the second set and opened up a 14-7 lead following a 3-0 run.
• The teams traded points down the stretch as Barton took the set 25-17 to even the match at one.
• Barton again grabbed the lead early in the third set, but King used a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 advantage. Bell started the spurt with a kill and Drooker registered an ace on the run.
• However, Barton answered with four straight points and followed a King point, the Bulldogs rolled off three more points to take a 16-12 lead.
• King came back to get within 21-19, but couldn’t get any closer as Barton took the set 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Tornado held the advantage throughout the fourth set, opening up a 15-9 lead midway through the frame.
• Nevertheless, the Bulldogs scored nine of the next 12 points to take a 21-20 lead before King answered with three straight points.
• Sprayberry capped the Tornado spurt with an ace, giving King a 23-21 lead and forcing a Barton timeout.
• Mouhiskhian gave King the 25-23 victory with his second kill of the set, forcing a fifth set.
• Sprayberry sparked a 4-0 King run that gave the Tornado a 6-3 lead with back-to-back kills.
• With King trailing 9-10, Wheaton and Moushikhian drilled home three straight kills. Moushikhian then teamed up with Adrian Besson for a block, giving King a 12-10 lead and forcing a Barton timeout.
• The Bulldogs scored back-to-back points to even the score, and the tally was even again at 15 before Wheaton recorded a kill.
• Following the kill, a Bulldog attack error gave King the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.
• Sprayberry led King with 17 kills to go along with seven digs and three blocks.
• Moushikhian recorded a double-double, going for 12 kills and 11 digs along with three blocks.
• Besson added eight kills and four blocks.
• Wheaton hit .417 with seven kills and a team-high five blocks.
• Drooker handed out 45 assists and accounted for eight digs.
• Bell led the defense with 12 digs to go along with six kills.

FOR THE FOES

• Vasilis Mandilaris led Barton with 19 kills while Angelos Mandilaris followed with 13 kills and six digs.
• Jay Novoa-Miralles chipped in with 11 kills and eight digs.
• Federico Pagliara handed out 50 assists.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The double-double for Moushikhian was his first of the season and the eighth of his career.

UP NEXT

• King will be in action again on Wednesday when they travel to North Greenville University. First serve from Tigerville, S.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
• Barton travels to the University of Mount Olive on Wednesday night.