BANNER ELK, NC--The number one seeded host Lees-McRae Lady
Bobcats swept Belmont Abbey, the eighth seed, in quarterfinal
action Wednesday evening. The Lady Bobcats (24-11) advance to the
semifinals where they play host Anderson University on Friday,
November 9th at 4:00pm.
In the first game of the match it was Anderson University
claiming an early lead on the regular season conference champions.
After getting down seven points (11-4) the Lady Bobcats clawed
their way back into game. Senior Daviana Metti (Cordoba,
Argentina) stepped up to the challenge and led the team back into
the game with a six point service run to put the Bobcats in the
lead 27-24. The Trojans, however, rallied to tie the game at
28-28, but the Lady Bobcats pushed through, grabbing the win at
30-28.
For the Lady Bobcats, game two of the match was a more
consistent game with fewer errors. The team continued to slowly
build their lead throughout the game with solid effort from
sophomore Lauren Dickover (Las Vegas, NV), who had 40 assists and
15 digs in the three game sweep, and Metti lending a few of her 20
kills (.311 hiting percentage) and13 digs for the night in the
30-20 win.
Belmont Abbey, trying to avoid the sweep, came out strong in the
third game building an early lead of 12-9. Freshman Whitney Kiser
(Connelly Springs, NC) sought to rally the Lady Bobcats with a
smashing kill (one of eight on the evening), instead the Trojans
continued to apply pressure and built the lead to 14-10. The Lady
Bobcats refused to give in and battled back within one at 15-14,
forcing Belmont Abbey to take a timeout. On the first point after
the time out sophomore Katie Legg (Alta Loma, CA) slammed a ball
through the defenders' hands. Legg and Caty Honey (Geneva, IL)
then followed with a tide-turning block. Freshman Lindsey Brant
(Orlando, FL) came up with a big service run near the end of the
game to help clinch the 30-24 win for the Lady Bobcats.
Scoring leaders for Belmont Abbey included Sydney Steffen
(Davenport, IA)with 10 kills and three aces; Allison Smith
(Cliffton, VA) with 22 assists, nine digs, and two blocks; and
Emily Frohnapfel (Stafford, VA) posting four kills and five blocks
in the match.
"Belmont Abbey played extremely tough, proving that the
conference across the board is more competitive than in years
past," commented Head Coach Jamie Petrik after the match.
The Lady Bobcats travel to Anderson, SC to play host Anderson
University in semifinal action Friday, November 9th at 4:00pm.
Pictured: Daviana Metti
