King University Advances to Conference Carolinas Semifinals

MATCH STATS

• King University 3, North Greenville 0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-18)
• King moves to 28-3, North Greenville finishes the season at 8-19
• King advances to play Mount Olive in Conference Carolinas Semifinals
• Bristol, Tennesee
• Attendance: 297
• Box Score

The #2 seed King University hosted its first ever post-season conference game as it swept the #7 seed North Greenville University by scores of 25-11, 25-10, and 25-18. This win also marks the first ever conference tournament win for King. As a team, King hit .308 while holding NGU to -.040 overall.

For King, junior outside hitter Jeff Sprayberry led the team with nine kills while senior outside hitter Eddie Moushikhian followed with eight kills and seven digs. Junior middle blocker Adrian Besson hit an impressive .500 with five kills on eight attempts while also contributing five blocks assists. Junior setter Nick Drooker controlled the offense with 29 kills and five digs. Junior opposite Kiel Bell finished with seven kills and seven digs.

Junior middle blocker Matthew McManaway led NGU with eight kills followed by sophomore outside hitter Grayson Lawrence with six. Junior setter Alexander Schinzing contributed 15 assists and eight digs, while junior libero Dustin King had seven digs.

In the first set, King jumped out to a quick 9-1 lead due to tough serving from Eddie Moushikhlan. King pushed its lead to 15-4, forcing a timeout by NGU. A service error out of the timeout closed the gap to 5-15 for NGU, but it would not be enough as King would close out the set on a 10-6 scoring run to win the first set 25-11.

The second set would see King jump out to another early lead, 15-4, prompting a timeout from NGU. Errors plagued NGU as they would commit five errors in the closing moments of the set, giving the second set to King 25-10.

North Greenville kept the third set close, tying it at 7-7 early on. King used a three point service run led by Jon Wheaton to take a 10-7 lead before a kill by NGU would end the run. NGU’s defense was unable to stop King’s hitters as six kills would help push King’s lead to 16-10. The remainder of the third set would see both teams exchanging point-for-point before a kill from Moushikhlan sealed the deal for King with a 25-18 win.

King will now prepare to face Mount Olive in a semifinal matchup in the Conference Carolinas tournament. King split the two regular season matchups with Mount Olive, with both contests going to five sets.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: King University Athletics

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men’s volleyball team continued to set new program standards, starting with hosting their first Conference Carolinas Tournament match on Tuesday night. The second seeded Tornado swept seventh seed North Greenville University 3-0 for their first-ever conference tournament victory.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, North Greenville 0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-18)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 28-3; North Greenville 8-19

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tornado set the tone for the match early, scoring nine of the first 10 points, including six straight.
• Kiel Bell and Jeff Sprayberry each had a pair of kills on the run and Eddie Moushikhian capped the burst with one of his two kills in the set.
• King closed the set no a 5-1 run, including three straight kills from Bell, Jon Wheaton and Sprayberry to take the set 25-11.
• The Tornado roll continued into the second set as King opened up a 6-1 lead, forcing a North Greenville timeout.
• Bell and Wheaton later stretched the King lead to 12-2, capping a 5-0 run with a block.
• King held their lead there and scored the final three points of the set, started by kills from Bell and Wheaton, taking the frame 25-10.
• The third set was tight as the Crusaders gained the early advantage, but King broke a 7-7 tie with a 9-2 run to gain control of the set.
• Back-to-back kills from Chris Gerber and Moushikhian later gave King the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
• Sprayberry led the Tornado with nine kills, three digs and two blocks.
• Moushikhian followed with eight kills, hitting .400 and added seven digs.
• Bell posted seven kills, seven digs and three blocks.
• Wheaton hit .750, recording six kills on eight attempts.
• Adrian Besson posted a team-high five blocks and added five kills.
• Nick Drooker handed out 29 assists to go along with five digs and two blocks.

FOR THE FOES

• Matthew McManaway led North Greenville with eight kills while Grayson Lawrence added six kills.
• Alexander Schinzing led the Crusaders with eight digs and 15 assists.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The win marks King’s first-ever Conference Carolinas Tournament victory in their first-ever Conference Carolinas Tournament home match.
• King advances to the semifinals on Friday that will be hosted by top seed Barton College in Wilson, N.C.

UP NEXT

• King takes on third seed University of Mount Olive on Friday at Barton.
• The Tornado split two contests with Mount Olive, both going five sets and each winning on their opponent’s home floor.

Courtesy: North Greenville Athletics

Bristol, TN—The third season of NGU men’s volleyball came to a close on Tuesday night with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-18) loss to King University.

The Tornado downed North Greenville for the second time in just over a week, this time knocking the Crusaders out of the Conference Carolinas playoffs. NGU finished the season with an 8-19 overall record with a 7-12 mark in league play.

It was a new game, but the outcome was much like the first meeting a week ago. The Crusaders struggled on offense, hitting in the negatives for the first time all season. NGU finished with just 18-kills compared to 21-errors at the net. Matthew McManaway led the way with eight spikes while Grayson Lawrence tacked on six.

The Tornado were solid on the defensive side of the ball, limiting NGU’s offensive production with 32-digs on the night to go along with 14-total blocks, including 12-assisted blocks. The Tornado hit .308 as a team with 37-kills.

NGU also put on a solid showing on the defensive side of the net, notching 25-digs including eight Alexander Schinzing who also finished with 15-assists. The Crusaders had six assisted blocks with McManaway and Schinzing leading with two each.