Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- The No.15 Lewis University
men's volleyball team held off a furious rally to defeat Lees-McRae
College in four sets (25-16, 25-20, 24-26, 26-24) in Williams
Gymnasium on Saturday evening.
The Flyers (3-0) were paced to victory by the double barreled
attack of Ian Karbiener (Orlando, Fla.) and Jay Petty (Downers
Grove, Ill.) who paced Lewis with 15 and 12 kills
respectively. Karbiener and Petty each hit over .400 to lead the
Flyers in the contest.
Randy Ramirez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) paced the Bobcats (0-1)
with 32 assists and a match-high six blocks, including five solo
stuffs, while Chad Mercado (Orlando, Fla.) added a match-high 15
kills for Lees-McRae.
The Bobcats opened the contest with a quick 5-2 rally before
Karbiener and Ben Muesenfechter (St. Louis, Mo.) cut the advantage
to one. The teams then traded side outs with Lees-McRae holding a
12-10 advantage in the opening set following a Chris Flood
(Louisville, Ky.) kill.
Lewis then pieced together a 9-0 run, highlighted by five
service aces from Muesenfechter to push Lewis to a 19-12 lead.
Flood ended the run with a kill of his own, kick-starting a quick
4-2 run for the Bobcats that cut the margin to 21-16. Lewis capped
the opening set by running off four straight points to take the
frame by a score of 25-16.
The Flyers continued the rally to open the second stanza, taking
a quick 4-0 lead before Lees-McRae trimmed the margin to 4-2
following a service ace by Ramirez. The Flyers halted the spurt,
tallying three quick points to extend the advantage to 7-2 before
the Bobcats responded with a 3-0 spurt of their own, cutting the
margin to 7-5.
The teams battled back and forth throughout the third set, with
the Bobcats taking and maintaining an early lead until Lewis fought
back to take a narrow 15-14 advantage. Lees-McRae delivered a quick
answer, regaining the lead at 16-15 on a decisive block by Mercado
and Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio).
Neither team would hold a lead of more than two points for the
remainder of the set, with the Bobcats taking a 24-23 advantage to
force a Flyer timeout. The decision proved to be a wise one, as the
Flyers evened the score on a Karbiener kill before the Bobcats
answered with back-to-back points to close out the 26-24 third-set
win and force a fourth frame.
Lewis responded early in the fourth set, taking a 7-3 lead
before the Bobcats answered with a 4-0 spurt to even the score at
7-7 on a kill by Flood. The teams would trade blows over much of
the remainder of the set, with the Bobcats taking a 24-21 lead on
the heels of a 12-8 run to force a Lewis timeout. The Flyers would
respond in impressive fashion, tallying five straight points to
register a 26-24 victory in the fourth set and take the match by a
3-1 margin.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Friday, Jan. 21 when the
Bobcats travel to Harrisburg, Va. to take on Kean University and
Lancaster Bible College at the Hampton Inn & Sleep Inn EMU
D-II/D-III Classic. The matches are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
and 9 p.m., respectively.
Lees-McRae College, a four-year, co-educational liberal arts
college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, USA, is located in
the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains of northwestern North Carolina.
Being a year-round tourist destination, the area provides the best
of a vibrant college community coupled with natural beauty and a
rich history. Please see www.lmc.edu for more information.
-LMC -
