Volleyball Opens Season with Thriller
SPARTANBURG, S.C.- It would take five sets to decide the winner between the Valkyries and the Brevard College Tornados on Thursday night at the Tom and Tracy Hannah Gymnasium. The result was a match deciding fifth set with Brevard earning the win 15-13.
Brevard came out hot in the first two sets winning both in convincing fashion at 25-14 and 25-15 respectively. The women of Converse gained their composure in the third set and kept themselves alive winning the set 25-18. With the momentum behind them the Valkyries took a thrilling fourth set, 31 – 29 to send them into a match deciding fifth set where Brevard got the edge.
“I felt like we had a strong showing against a good team with last year’s leading blocker in Division II,” stated Converse Head Coach Regina Schantz. “We made some big plays at big moments, and our young players fought hard. It is tough to lose a match like this, but we will take it and learn from it as we continue looking forward.”
The Tornados were lead by freshman Kortney Conner (Franklin, NC) with 20 kills. She had great scoring support by Jordei Osby (Goldsboro, NC) and Ashlie Morrison (Denver, CO) who contributed a combined 15 kills and 4 blocks. On top of their offensive success, the Tornado’s libero, Rebecca Schoonover (Palm City, FL) had 16 digs which proved to be a major contributing factor to their win.
The Valkyries put up some impressive numbers on their side as well. Senior Katherine Buehler (Mooresville, NC) lead the team with 12 kills. Junior Val Thoms (Menasha, WI) and freshman Cassundra Rogers (Minneapolis, MN) added 10 and 8 kills respectively. Jamehia Maxwell (Crawfordville, FL) and Brianna Scalf (Jacksonville, FL) showed well on the defensive end contributing 12 digs each.
The Valkyries will be in action this weekend against King College at the Limestone Invitational in Gaffney, SC before returning home with matches on September 6th and 7th.
