ATHENS, WV - The Kentucky State University volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday in the opening day of the Concord Quads. The Thorobreds dropped their first match, 3-1 (24-26, 25-7, 25-14, 25-10), to Gannon, then posted a thrilling five-set victory (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 18-25, 16-14) over Virginia-Wise.
 

Kentucky State (3-10 overall) returns to action Saturday, facing King University at 9 a.m., and Lees-McRae College at 1 p.m.

MATCH ONE: GANNON 3, KENTUCKY STATE 1

After winning the first set, KSU lost three consecutive to fall to Gannon. The Thorobreds were great on the offense in winning the initial set, hitting .268 with 16 kills and just five errors. Unfortunately, they couldn't replicate that success over the next three sets.

For her second straight game, sophomore Robin Poole (Katy, TX) registered double-figure kills, finishing with a team-high 12. She completed the team's first double-double of the season with 12 digs.

Sophomore Jalynn Roberts (Davenport, IA) continued to make the most of her attempts, finishing with seven kills on 13 attempts for a team-best hitting percentage of .385.

The sophomore duo of Amanda Moore (Caddo Mills, TX) and Gabriella Gracia (Trullio Alto, Puerto Rico) combined for 27 assists with 17 and 10 assists, respectively.

Freshman libero Alliyah Williams (Sugarland, TX) led the team with 15 digs.

MATCH TWO: KENTUCKY STATE 3, VIRGINIA-WISE 2

Three players registered double-figure kills as the Thorobreds avoided losing a 2-0 lead, and won the five-set match. Poole, who reached double-figures for the third straight match, finished with a career-high 19 kills on 45 attempts.

Senior Arlandria Greathouse (Crowley, TX) recorded 16 kills on 31 attempts, and Roberts added 11 kills on 27 attempts. Roberts added three of the team's seven service aces.

KSU raced out to the 2-0 advantage, and led 18-17 in the third. However, Wise stormed back to win the third and maintained the momentum to win the fourth set. Unfazed, the Thorobreds scored the eight of the first 10 points in the game-deciding set.

But, the Cavaliers took the lead with seven straight tallies of their own. The teams traded points until Kentucky State was able to score three of the last four points to secure the victory.

For the second time in three matches, Moore distributed a career-high 31 assists in the victory. Gracia also dished out a career-high with 24 assists.

Williams finished with 18 digs, while Roberts was a force at the net with three block assist