The UVA Wise Cavaliers volleyball team fell short to the King University Tornado in a hard-fought battle on their season-opening Friday night, resulting in a 3-0 loss (25-19, 26-24, 25-18).

The Tornado and the Cavaliers fought head to head for most of the first set, and wouldn't let either team get within a point of another before the latter breaking even. It wasn't until each team reached 18 points that King University began to stretch ahead with two back-to-back aces that put them up 20-18. The Tornado then gained overall control of the match, with the Cavs struggling to return the ball in the finish and King was able to run away with a 25-19 win.

The beginning of the second set looked eerily familiar to the first, with each team battling each point. The biggest point differential between the two teams was 20-17 when King was able to get a kill, ace, and encourage an attack error to pull away with three points. A pair of kills by Kelsey Green and the help of impressive setting by Rylee Waye put the teams in a standstill at 24-24. King University was able to take advantage of a few Cavs missteps and a kill from Georgia Davis sealed the deal with a 26-24 score.

In the final frame, The Cavaliers would not go down without a fight as the score remained close until King University's Abigail Jayne mustered up a few monstrous kills to put her team up 21-16. Although the Cavs chipped away at King's lead, Davis sealed the deal once again with a kill at the finale. 

A key leader of the match — Junior Zoe Avery — accounted for 16 assists in the overall Cavalier effort. Kelsey Green accounted for nine kills on the night with Cassidy Farley adding six of her own to the effort. Defensively, newcomer Kaylee Scarce collected 15 digs to her statbook. 

Head coach Kristen Salyer's team will return to action this Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 7:00 p.m. to play at Tusculum University.