Box Score Due West, S.C. – The Erskine College Flying Fleet (18-8) were unable to pull out a win today against the King College Tornadoes (20-10) losing three sets to one set.
The Fleet were able to win the first set 25-13, however they were unable to grab another win in the last three sets losing (28-26, 25-18, 27-25).
The Flying Fleet dominated the first set, as they were able to jump out to an impressive 12-6 lead. The lead would not be lost as Erskine would finish the first set 25-13.
Kendall Kirk (Lexington, SC, White Knoll High School), a sophomore for the Flying Fleet, said of the first set "We were able to jump on them early, and hold the lead through great effort and teamwork."
The second set was a tight affair throughout the entire set. Erskine held the largest lead of the set, which was a 15-9 lead. The Fleet were able to withstand a strong King comeback and regained the lead at 24-20. However the Tornado comeback proved to be too strong and Erskine would lose the set 28-26.
King had a strong start to the third set jumping out to an early 8-3 over the Flying Fleet. The Fleet, behind strong play from
Caitlin Bullock (Lexington, SC, White Knoll High School) and
Kristen Dodge (Duncan, SC, Byrnes High School), were able to bring the set close again with King leading 12-11. King would then go on a 9-4 run and lead 21-15. The deficit would prove to be too much for Erskine to overcome and King would take the third set 25-18.
The final set also saw King jump out to a commanding 6-1 lead. The Fleet were able to show a fighting spirit and clawed their way to a 7-6 lead. The set would go back and forth throughout, with the Fleet not having quite enough to pull out the win. King would take another very close set, winning 27-25. Kirk said of the fourth and final set, "We were able to fight back and dig ourselves out of a hole, we just didn't have enough things go our way today. We will work hard to correct our mistakes and we'll be ready for the conference tournament that's coming up."
For Erskine, Bullock knocked down a team-high 12 kills and Dodge earned her twelfth double-double of the season with 27 assists and 15 digs.
The Fleet were able to secure a #1 seed in the conference tournament with an outstanding 14-2 conference record, which won them the regular season title. They will start their pursuit of a conference tournament title Tuesday night at home against Barton College. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
