Box score
MISENHEIMER, N.C. --- Senior Chad Mercado
(Orlando, Fla.) recorded a match-high 22 kills, and Chris Flood
(Louisville, Ky.) added 14 digs to lead the Lees-McRae College
men's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Pfeiffer University in the
Bobcats' season finale on Thursday night in Conference Carolinas
play.
Lees-McRae (16-10, 5-3 CC) won the match by scores of 25-15,
25-22, 22-25, and 25-21 to close out the regular season, capping
one of the best campaign's in program history. The Bobcats posted a
.273 hitting percentage on the night, recording 11 blocks and
holding Pfeiffer (8-14, 0-8 CC) to a .179 attacking clip.
Mercado capped a sensational career with 22 kills and a .439
hitting percentage, while recording four blocks. The 6-5, 235-pound
opposite concludes his four-year tenure with the Bobcats ranked
among the program's all-time leaders in kills (1,090), blocks
(187), and digs (428), while entering the week ranked second in the
nation in kills per set (4.65).
Eduardo Gonzales (San Juan, Puerto Rico) also recorded 12 kills
and five digs, while Dylan Kembre (West Chester, Ohio) tallied a
match-high 40 assists while nearly accounting for a double-double
with nine digs. Edmund Walkley (Glenbrook, Australia) and John
Lucas (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in six and five kills,
respectively, while Flood posted a match-high 14 digs.
Josh Mahan and Eric Edelman paced the Falcons with 10 and nine
kills, respectively, as Michael McLaughlin added 34 assists and
four blocks. Drew Burdette added six kills and six digs, while
Kevin Anderson and Mark Hess tallied nine and eight digs,
respectively.
Lees-McRae opened on a tear, taking an early 10-4 lead in the
first set on a Gonzales kill before pushing the lead to 14-6 on
back-to-back Pfeiffer errors, forcing a Falcon timeout. Pfeiffer
fought back, trimming the margin to 19-13 before the Bobcats closed
out the set with a 6-2 run, capping the frame on a Falcon
miscue.
Pfeiffer battled back from an early deficit in the second set,
evening the score at 10-10 on a Bobcat miscue before Lees-McRae
responded, taking a 15-10 lead on the heels of a 5-0 spurt. The
Falcons remained within striking distance for the remainder of the
frame, cutting the lead to 22-20 on a block by McLaughlin and Micah
Bortner before the Bobcats answered with a 3-2 spurt to close out
the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set proved to be a tightly contested affair, with
neither team opening a lead of more than three points throughout
much of the frame. With the Bobcats holding a narrow 16-14 lead,
Pfeiffer went on a quick 4-0 spurt to take an 18-16 advantage on a
block by Burdette and Blake Dowdle. After the Bobcats battled back
to even the score at 20-20 on a rejection by Mercado and Eric
Jackson (Daytona Beach, Fla.), the Falcons responded with a 5-2
spurt to claim the set on a Mahan kill to cut the Lees-McRae lead
to 2-1.
Lees-McRae responded in the fourth set, opening an early 8-6
lead on a tandem block by Gonzales and Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati,
Ohio) before Pfeifer answered with a 6-1 run to claim an 11-9
advantage. After Lees-McRae countered with a 3-0 spurt and Burdette
answered with a kill to knot the score at 12-12, Pfeiffer went on a
5-3 run to claim a 17-15 advantage on a Bobcat miscue.
Neither team would hold more than a two-point advantage for much
of the remainder of the set, with Pfeiffer knotting the score at
20-20 following a pair of Bobcat miscues before Lees-McRae
responded, closing out the set and the match with a 5-1 run as
Mercado capped his season and career with an emphatic kill.
Lees-McRae is expected to return 13 letter-winners from this
year's 16-10 squad, including rising sophomores Gonzales, Flood,
Lucas, Harpenau, and Randy Ramirez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico). The
Bobcats posted three wins over NCAA Division I opponents this
season, including a pair of straight-set victories over New Jersey
Institute of Technology while pushing 11th-ranked Penn State
University to five frames on Feb. 19.
- LMC -
