Converse Wins 5-Game Thriller
Spartanburg, SC — The All-Stars improve to 14-7 overall and 6-3 in CVAC play, the Knights fall to 12-13 and 5-4 in the CVAC. With the win, Converse sweeps the season series against St. Andrews.
Converse opened the first game with an 11-0 run. The All-Stars never looked back and won game one in convincing fashion, 30-20.
In game 2, the Knights began much better by grabbing an early 4-1 lead. They would hold the lead until Converse caught them at 10-9. Trailing by one point at 11-10, the Knights put on a run of their own. They would rattled off 6 unanswered points. The Knights would eventually stretch the lead to 8 points at 22-14. St. Andrews went on to win game 2 by that same margin, 30-22.
The two schools started game by trading points and the lead a couple of times. With Converse leading 11-10, the Knights put together a very impressive 10 point run to take a 20-10 lead. Converse would never recover and the Knights would take a 2-1 advantage in match.
Game 4 saw the momentum switch a number of times. After being tied at 5, Converse would score 10 of the next 12 points to take a 15-7 lead. The Knights would chip away at Converse’s lead and eventually take it at 23-20. The teams would exchange points before St. Andrews seemed poised for victory. With the Knights two points from the win, 28-26, and momentum on their side, Converse dug deep and rallied off 4 points to steal game 4 by a score of 30-28.
“We started off the match strong but then a hit a lull,” said Coach Bill Rude of his team performance. “But the girls dug down deep in game 4 and found some character.”
Converse used the momentum of the game 4 comeback and the near capacity crowd to win game 5 and the match. With the game tied at four, Converse scored ended the fifth game with an 11-3 and won the game 15-7.
“We beat a very good St. Andrews team tonight,” Coach Rude said about his former team and opponent. “I am proud of the character my team showed tonight to comeback.”
Converse was offensively by the Wallace sisters. Melanie recorded 15 kills, while Monica added 10. Lauren Mueller also had 10 kills in the match. Allison Ralston dished out 22 assists. Sally Crossley had 31 digs. Monica Wallace added 25, while Michelle Sloan had an additional 14 digs. Sloan and Ralston each served two aces. Sarah Javdan-Inallo picked up fouir blocks on the evening.
For St. Andrews, Lindsey Stansbury led the way with 19 kills. Tara Lemieux and Galina Podolsky had 14 and 13 kills respectively. Kim Harper recorded 32 digs while Stansbury had 26 on the night. Erin Haugen added 25 digs. Jesi Bewley served 3 aces on the night and Stansbury again made the leader sheet with 2 aces. Besides leading the team in digs, Harper also dished out 52 assists in the match.
Converse will host the CVAC leaders Limestone College in a pivotal match next Wednesday. With the win tonight, the All-Stars move into third place. The match will begin at 7:00 pm at the Tom and Tracy Hannah Gym on the campus of Converse College.
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