Box score
BRISTOL, Tenn. --- The King College men's
volleyball fought back for a five-set victory over visiting
Lees-McRae College on Tuesday night in Conference Carolinas
action.
King (9-8, 3-3 CC) won the contest by scores of 17-25, 29-27,
25-19, 23-25, and 15-10 to move within one match of second place in
the conference standings. The Tornado tallied 11 blocks and held
the Bobcats (15-10, 4-3 CC) to a .128 hitting percentage, while
also posting five service aces and 57 digs.
Eduardo Gonzales (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Chad Mercado each
tallied a match-high 16 kills to pace the Bobcats, as libero Efrain
Negron (Orlando, Fla.) posted a contest-best 19 digs. Randy Ramirez
(Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) also tallied a match-high 46 assists for
Lees-McRae, while Mercado and Chris Flood (Louisville, Ky.) each
posted three blocks.
Eric Glenn paced the Tornado with 11 kills and a match-best .579
hitting percentage, while Alex Oliveria added nine kills and three
blocks. Brandon Rorer and Michael Koebel each added eight kills,
while Glenn posted a match-high five blocks. Rorer chipped in a
team-high 12 digs, as Joel Salva, Morris Cephas, and James Friddle
each added 11 savers.
Lees-McRae started strong, opening an early 18-8 lead in the
first set on a Mercado kill before pushing the margin to 21-10 on a
solo block by the burly senior. After a pair of King kills, the
Bobcats held off a late Tornado rally to notch the 25-17 first-set
win on a kill by Mercado.
The second set proved to be one of the most closely contested of
the night, featuring several impressive runs as neither team led by
more than two points during the last stages of the frame. With King
leading by a slim 23-22 margin, the Bobcats stormed out of a
timeout with a 3-1 spurt to take a 25-24 lead on a Gonzales kill.
King responded with a pair of points to claim a 26-25 advantage,
and after the teams traded a trio of markers, the Tornado closed
out the set on a Bobcat miscue to even the match at 1-1.
King jumped out to a 16-11 lead in the third set, claiming the
five-point advantage on a Bobcat miscue before Lees-McRae answered
with a 6-2 run to cut the margin to 18-17 on a solo block by
Mercado. The Tornado responded, launching a 7-2 run of their own to
claim the set and a 2-1 advantage in the match on a solo block by
Rorer.
Lees-McRae answered in the fourth set, going on a 5-0 spurt
midway through the frame to claim a 15-11 advantage on a Ramirez
service ace and force a Tornado timeout. After King trimmed the
margin to 15-14 with a 3-0 spurt, the Bobcats answered with three
straight points of their own to kick-start a 7-2 run to take a
22-16 lead on a kill by Mercado.
The Tornado fought back, cutting the margin to 22-21 with a 5-0
spurt before Gonzales pushed the set to the brink with a kill to
give the Bobcats a 24-21 lead. After King answered with
back-to-back points to cut the margin to 24-23, Gonzales countered
with another kill to cap the set and force a deciding fifth
frame.
The fifth set proved to be a thrilling affair, featuring several
runs by each team as King jumped out to a 12-9 kill on a Koebel
kill, which forced a Bobcat timeout. After Lees-McRae answered with
a kill by Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio) out of the break to cut
the lead to 12-10, King countered with three straight points to
quell the rally and close out the match on a Friddle kill.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Thursday, April 14 as the
Bobcats travel to Misenheimer, N.C. to take on Pfeiffer University
in their regular season finale. First serve is slated for 7
p.m.
- LMC -
