Volleyball Splits Day One of Tony Fontanelle Memorial Tournament

MARS HILL, N.C. - Coker University volleyball split the first day of the Tony Fontanelle Memorial Tournament on Friday (Sept. 2), beating Young Harris 3-1 and falling to Georgia College 3-0. 

The Cobras took down Young Harris in four sets to complete the season sweep over the Mountain Lions by scores of 22-25, 25-22, 25-22 and 26-24. 

Young Harris would take the first set 25-22, before the Cobras would rebound for three consecutive set wins to take the match. The teams played to early ties of 4-4 and 8-8, before the Cobras would go on a run to take a 17-12 lead in the set. Young Harris would battle back to get within one at 23-22, before the Cobras would close out the set to tie the match 1-1. The teams played to a 6-6 deadlock in the third set, before later knotting up again at 14-14. After playing to a 19-19 tie later in the set, the Cobras would win six of the final nine points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The fourth set was more of the same with ties early in the set, before the Cobras were able to go on a run to take a 16-13 lead in the set. Young Harris would battle back to a 17-17 tie, before the teams tied up again at 22-22. The teams would trade points to a 24-24 deadlock, before the Cobras would close things out with two consecutive points to take the match. 

Lauren Loveday paced the Cobras with 10 kills in the match, while Chelsey Blume also added nine. Six others registered kills in the match for the Cobras. Kendal Boland dished out a team-high 14 assists in the match, while Adriana Velez also had 13 assists. Four others registered assists in the contest. As a team, Coker posted 13 service aces, with three apiece coming from Loveday, Taylor Hills and Boland. Blume also had two, while Makayla Harris and Velez also had one each. Harris posted a team-high 12 digs in the match, while Loveday completed the double-double with 10 digs and Boland completed a double-double with 10 digs of her own. Seven others registered digs in the match. Nehemiah Jinks tallied all three of Coker's solo blocks in the match, while Naomi Earl-Reyes had five block assists to lead the way. Blume also contributed three block assists, while Jinks had two and Alexis Kopicki and Loveday each had one. 

Coker then dropped the nightcap to Georgia College 3-0 by scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-18. 

Blume and Loveday each had a team-high eight kills in the match, while four others recorded kills in the contest. Velez dished out a career-high 24 assists in the match, while Harris had four and Loveday had two. Hills posted Coker's two service aces in the match. Loveday led the Cobras with 11 digs in the match, while nine others tallied digs in the match. Loveday and Blume each recorded solo blocks in the match, while four players registered block assists in the match. 

The Cobras (3-3) return to action tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 3) to conclude tournament play and face King (Tenn.). First serve is set for 2:30 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.cokercobras.com.