Box score
BRISTOL, Tenn. --- Four players tallied at
least eight kills to lead a balanced attack as the Lees-McRae
College women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to
eight matches with a straight-set sweep of King College on Saturday
afternoon.
Lees-McRae (10-6, 6-0 CC) won the match by scores of 25-18,
25-17, and 25-20, extending its conference winning streak to 37
contests, while holding King to a .191 clip on the attack. The
Bobcats posted a blistering .327 hitting percentage on the
afternoon, while dropping in 11 service aces.
Megan Epperson (St. John, Ind.) paced the Bobcats with 14 kills,
extending her streak of 10 or more smashes to eight matches. The
senior outside hitter has been especially strong of late, averaging
4.42 kills per set over her last six matches while hitting .310 in
that span.
Taylor Clendenin (Statesville, N.C.) added 12 kills and a .391
hitting percentage, while Lauren Fox (Garland, Texas) and Jessica
Singewald (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) tallied nine and eight kills,
respectively. Fox and Singewald hit .750 and .583, respectively, as
Megan Mitchell (Minden, Nev.) chipped in 38 assists, becoming the
first player in program history to surpass the 2,600-helper
plateau. Sariah Suryadevara (Cincinnati, Ohio) also added
match-highs of 18 digs and four service aces for the Bobcats.
Ashley Pittman led the way for King with 11 kills, while Sarah
Van Goethem chipped in seven smashes. Natalie Brown added 12 digs,
while Shannon Earwood tallied 24 assists for the Tornado. Kristen
Hamel and Kelsey Griffitts also chipped in a match-high three
blocks each.
The opening set proved to be a tightly contested affair until
the latter stages of the frame, when the Bobcats launched a 9-3 run
to close out the set on a Singewald kill. Lees-McRae carried the
momentum into the second set, opening the frame with a 7-4 run that
was capped by an Epperson ace.
King stayed within striking distance, cutting the margin to
14-13 on a Bobcat error to cap a 4-1 run. The Bobcats responded
once again, claiming a 21-16 lead on a Tornado error before closing
out the set on a Mitchell service ace to take a commanding 2-0
advantage in the match.
The Tornado countered early in the third set, battling to an
11-9 advantage before Lees-McRae responded with a 9-3 run to claim
an 18-14 lead on a Singewald smash. King refused to go away,
cutting the lead to 21-19 on a block by Griffitts and Hamel to cap
a 5-3 spurt. The Bobcats reclaimed the momentum in short order,
taking a 22-19 lead on a Fox kill to launch a 4-1 run before
closing out the match on a Suryadevara ace.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Friday, September 30,
travelling to Raleigh, N.C. to take on St. Augustine's College at 6
p.m.
- LMC -
