ATHENS, W. Va. - - Volleyball concluded day two of the Concord Classic Tournament going 1-1 as the team earned its first win of the tournament with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-7, 25-4) sweep of Bluefield State (0-6) Friday morning. The Cavaliers (1-9) would fall in a close game two to Kentucky State University (3-10) in five sets, 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 18-25, 16-14) to wrap up the day.
Freshman Matelyn Gibson had eight kills followed by sophomores Madelyn Lawrence and Brooke Abbott who recorded seven kills apiece in game one. Lawrence also added seven aces while sophomore Scout Burge and junior Morgan Milligan each posted five aces. Sophomore setter Makayla Ledford notched 25 assists in the win.
UVa-Wise would get things going early in the first match of the day, jumping out to a 12-3 lead in the first set. Momentum never slowed for the Cavs as they claimed a dominating 25-10 set one win over the Big Blues.
The second set saw more of the same from UVa-Wise as a 10-0 run propelled UVa-Wise to a 14-3 advantage over Bluefield State. UVa-Wise hit an impressive .600 in the second set as the Cavs won seven consecutive points to complete a 25-7 set two victory.
UVa-Wise gave up just four points in set three as they took the set, 25-4, for a 3-0 sweep of the Big Blues.
The Cavs posted 32 kills and 29 assists in the win and registered a .596 hitting percentage in the match. Bluefield State had just seven kills with six assists and six digs.
UVa-Wise put up a tough fight across five sets in the Cavs second game of the day against Kentucky State.
Lawrence led the Cavs once again with 15 kills while Abbott and Gibson each tallied 11 kills for UVa-Wise. Lawrence also posted six blocks while Ledford added 41 assists and Milligan recorded 17 digs.
The two teams went back-and-forth in set one before a four-point run by the Cavs gave them a 14-13 lead over the Thorobreds. KSU would go up by two points late, 21-19, before a 4-1 run gave them a 25-20 set one win.
The Thorobreds took an early 9-5 lead in set two before going ahead 16-12 later in the set. A trio of errors by KSU would allow the Cavaliers to tie the set at 17-17. UVa-Wise would fall behind before the Thorobreds went on to take the second set, 25-22.
The third set would be a battle for the two teams with UVa-Wise taking a four-point, 16-12 lead. After trailing later in the set, a pair of kills by Lawrence followed by another point by Gibson would give UVa-Wise a 21-19 lead. The Cavs would remain in control to end the set as they earned a 25-21 victory.
The Cavs did not let up heading into the fourth set with a 13-7 lead to start. UVa-Wise remained in control with a kill by Abbott giving the Cavs a 20-13 advantage over KSU. A kill by Green would complete the 25-18 set four win as UVa-Wise rallied from behind to force a fifth set.
KSU would open the final set scoring the first five points, but the Cavs would utilize a 7-0 run to take a 9-8 lead.
The teams would continue to exchange the lead before a kill by freshman Abigail Byington tied the match at 13-13. After another lead change, Abbott would tie the game once again, but KSU would get back-to-back kills to take the fifth set, 16-14, in the 3-2 win for the Thorobreds.
UVa-Wise had 51 kills, 48 assists, and seven blocks in the match while KSU finished with 66 kills and 61 assists.
The Cavaliers return to Wise for their home opener against Lees-McRae on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
