Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Conference Carolinas
Player of the Year Whitney Justice (Connelly Springs, N.C.) tallied
a match-high nine kills, and Megan Epperson (St. John, Ind.)
recorded a season-best five blocks to lead the top-seeded
Lees-McRae College women's volleyball team to a three-set sweep of
fourth-seeded Queens University of Charlotte on Friday in the
semifinal round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Lees-McRae (24-7) won the match by scores of 25-21, 25-21, and
25-22, holding the Royals (20-10) to a 0.16 hitting percentage.
Justice led a balanced Bobcat attack with nine kills, recording a
.421 hitting percentage, while Epperson tallied five kills,
including the 1,000th of her career. Megan Mitchell (Minden, Nev.),
Taylor Clendenin (Statesville, N.C.), and Lauren Fox (Garland,
Texas) each notched four kills, while Dana Oliver (Davie, Fla.)
tallied a match-high 12 digs.
Mitchell recorded a match-high 22 assists, while Clendenin and
Epperson posted 11 and nine digs, respectively. Epperson and
Justice led the way with five and four blocks, respectively, while
Chloe Casas (Plano, Texas) posted three service aces.
Keri Kemp (Lake Mary, Fla.) paced the Royals with eight kills,
while Brittney Barren (Ham Lake, Minn.), Brittany Harvey (Matthews,
N.C.) and Anna Gibbs (Hickory, N.C.) tallied six, five and five
kills respectively. Avery Moore (Arlington, Texas) chipped in 21
assists, while Barren posted a team-high nine digs. Moore, Alexa
Sparrell (Winter Park, Fla.), Jocelyn Kellinger (Roanoke, Va.), and
Sarah Malpass (Gainesville, Fla.) each tallied eight digs.
Lees-McRae opened the first set with a 5-1 run, including
Epperson's 1,000th career kill, before Queens responded with a 7-2
spurt to take an 8-7 lead on back-to-back service aces by Barren.
The Bobcats would answer with an 8-3 run of their own, taking a
15-11 lead on a kill from Justice before Queens evened the score at
16-16 with a 5-1 spurt. Lees-McRae quickly regained control, taking
a 22-19 lead on the heels of a 6-3 run before closing out the 25-21
first-set win on a Queens miscue.
The Bobcats would carry the momentum into the second set,
opening the frame with a 9-1 run before Queens could answer,
rallying to cut the margin to 9-5 with a quick 4-0 spurt. Queens
continued to press the attack, cutting the lead to 14-11 on a kill
by Barren. Lees-McRae would answer, stretching the margin to 18-11
with a 4-0 spurt before Queens responded, going on a 5-0 run of its
own to trim the advantage to 18-16.
Lees-McRae refused to cede control, pushing the lead to 24-20
with a 6-4 spurt before Clendenin knocked in a kill to cap a 25-21
second set win, and give the Bobcats a commanding 2-0 lead in the
match. Queens would answer in the third frame, opening the set with
a 4-0 run before Lees-McRae responded with a 5-1 spurt of its own,
taking an early 6-5 advantage on a kill by Epperson.
The two teams would battle throughout much of the remaining
portion of the set, with neither side gaining more than a two-point
advantage until, with the score standing at 19-18 in favor of LMC,
the Bobcats launched a 3-0 spurt to take a 22-18 lead on
back-to-back service aces from Casas.
Queens would rally, answering with a 4-0 spurt of its own to
even the score at 22-22 on three-straight kills from Ashlyn Dibrell
(Arlington, Texas). Lees-McRae refused to cede momentum, answering
with a 3-0 spurt to claim the set and the match on a kill by
Clendenin.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Sunday when the top-seeded
Bobcats host second-seeded Erskine College in the championship
match of the 2010 Conference Carolinas Tournament. The match is
slated for 2 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium. The LMC athletic
department will host a Green Out for the match, and encourages all
Bobcat fans to wear green to the contest.
- LMC -
