Kingsport Reporter

The King University men's volleyball team opened their season with a road contest at Purdue Fort Wayne Friday night and fell 3-0. Warren Davis led the Tornado attack with 10 kills, while Jack Sarnowski had 22 assists and AJ Drooker had five digs.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Purdue Fort Wayne 3, King 0 (22-25, 17-25, 14-25)

LOCATION: Arnie Ball Court; Fort Wayne, Ind.

RECORDS: King 0-1; Purdue Fort Wayne 1-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set

• After taking an early 4-3 lead, the Mastodons went on a 5-1 run to open up a 9-4 advantage.
• The Tornado then scored four in a row to get back to within one, 9-8.
• King continued to keep pace, eventually tying the set at 12 off a thunderous Kellan Kennedy kill.
• Coming out of a timeout with Purdue Fort Wayne leading 15-13, the Tornado went on a 4-2 run to pull even once again, 17-17.
• From that point, the Mastodons closed the set on an 8-5 run to win the set 24-21.

Second Set

• After trading points early, the Tornado took their first lead of the night at 3-2 off a service ace from Kennedy.
• The Mastodons would quickly tie the match, then taking a narrow lead, though were unable to open up a large lead as the Tornado consistently responded.
• The Tornado were able to keep the score close throughout the set, but after the Mastodons took a 15-13 lead coming out of a timeout, they used that to extend their advantage to 20-15 before a service error ended the scoring run.
• The Mastodons lead opened up to 23-16 where Kennedy recorded another kill to stop the scoring run, but Purdue Fort Wayne would score the final two points to take the set 25-17.

Third Set

• Back-to-back kills from Davis and Kennedy gave the Tornado an early 2-0 lead, but the Mastodons would eventually tie the set at 5 before taking a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
• Purdue Fort Wayne scored eight consecutive points to expand their lead to 12-5.
• The Tornado were able to battle their way back to within 17-11, but Purdue Fort Wayne would score four of the next five points to take a 21-12 advantage.
• The Mastodons would close the match on a 4-2 run to win the set 25-14, and the match 3-0.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The 10 kills for Davis ties his career high, which was set on Jan. 22 of last season against Queens
• Drooker had five digs to lead the Tornado back row, with Justin Sawyer adding four.

FOR THE FOES

• Jon Diedrich had 10 kills to lead the Mastodons attack, while Mark Frazier had seven kills and six block assists, along with five digs.

UP NEXT

• The Tornado will continue their season-opening road trip Wednesday when they face Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill.
• The Mastadons will host NJIT Saturday.

Original source can be found here