Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Megan Mitchell (Minden,
Nev.) posted a triple-double to lead the top-seeded Lees-McRae
College women's volleyball team to a hard-fought five-set victory
over Belmont Abbey College in the quarterfinal round of the
Conference Carolinas Tournament on Tuesday night in Williams
Gymnasium.
Lees-McRae (25-8) won the match by scores of 25-23, 30-32,
25-23, 24-26, and 15-12, holding Belmont Abbey (18-15) to a .144
hitting percentage while recording 92 digs and a .174 attacking
clip of its own. The Crusaders posted 11 blocks on the night, while
Lees-McRae notched 10 stuffs.
Mitchell paced the Bobcats with 48 assists, 16 digs, and 11
kills to notch her first triple-double of the season. Megan
Epperson (St. John, Ind.) and Taylor Clendenin (Statesville, N.C.)
each chipped in a double-double, as Epperson posted a match-high 18
kills and 14 digs while Clendenin notched 14 smashes and dug out 13
Crusader attacks. Lauren Fox (Garland, Texas) also chipped in 11
kills and a team-high five blocks, as Sariah Suryadevara
(Cincinnati, Ohio) added a match-high 23 digs and four aces.
Angela Jubb paced Belmont Abbey with a double-double, recording
17 kills and 11 digs. Lydia Schellenberg added a double-double with
10 kills and a team-high 22 digs, while Kay Schellenberg chipped in
a double-double with 45 assists and 10 digs. Bria James recorded 11
digs and eight kills, as Stefanie Holler added eight smashes of her
own.
Belmont Abbey jumped out to an early 12-7 lead in the first set
before Lees-McRae answered with a 13-8 run, evening the score at
20-20 on an Epperson kill. The Bobcats then closed out the set with
a 5-3 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match on an Abbey error.
The Abbey rallied in the second set, snatching a 19-15 lead on a
block by Holler and Victoria Hensen before the Bobcats answered
with a 9-4 run to push the Crusaders to set point. Belmont Abbey
fought off five set points, rallying from a 30-29 deficit with
three straight points to even the match on a Bobcat miscue.
Lees-McRae answered in the third set, taking a 14-11 lead on a
Suryadevara ace before pushing the margin to 20-15 on back-to-back
Abbey miscues. Belmont Abbey responded with a 7-1 run, taking a
22-21 lead on a Holler smash before the Bobcats countered with a
4-1 spurt to close out the set on a block by Epperson and Jessica
Singewald (Port St. Lucie, Fla.).
The Abbey responded once again in the fourth set, hanging with
the Bobcats throughout the frame before fighting off set point with
three straight markers to force a fifth and deciding set on a kill
by Remick Tiller.
After the Bobcats opened the set with a 6-3 run, Belmont Abbey
countered with a 6-0 run to take a 9-6 lead on back-to-back kills
by Jubb. The Bobcats responded with a 6-2 run, taking a 12-11 lead
on an Abbey miscue. Lees-McRae then closed out the set with a 3-1
run, taking the match on three straight kills by Fox, Mitchell and
Epperson.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Friday when the Bobcats host
King College in the semifinal round of the conference tournament at
6:30 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.
- LMC -
