Box score
MISENHEIMER, N.C. --- The top-seeded Pfeiffer
University men's volleyball team won the first two sets, and held
on for a hard-fought 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Lees-McRae
College on Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the
Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Pfeiffer (20-6) won the match by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 19-25,
and 25-21, holding Lees-McRae (11-10) to a .151 clip on the attack
while posting a .228 hitting percentage of its own. The Falcons
tallied 56 kills, 42 digs and seven blocks on the afternoon, while
the Bobcats posted 37 smashes, dug out 22 attacks, and recorded 12
stuffs.
Jose Ribas (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) paced the Bobcats with 12
kills, as John Lucas (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied nine smashes.
Joshua Jones (Christmas, Fla.) and Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio)
posted six and five blocks, respectively, while Randy Ramirez
(Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) chipped in 36 assists and four block
assists.
Quentin Moore led the way for Pfeiffer with a match-high 17
kills, as Michael McLaughlin and Caleb Brophy each posted 11
smashes. David Specian nearly tallied a double-double with 51
assists and nine digs, as Mark Hess and Brophy added 11 and nine
digs, respectively.
The first set proved to be a tightly contested affair, with
Lees-McRae capitalizing on a pair of Falcon errors to even the
tally at 15-15 midway through the frame. The teams would battle
back and forth over the remainder of the set, neither opening more
than a two-point lead as Pfeiffer closed out the frame with a 3-1
spurt, taking a 1-0 lead in the match following a Brophy kill.
Lees-McRae answered in the second, opening a 15-11 lead on a
Jones service ace before Pfeiffer responded with a 6-2 run, evening
the tally at 17-17 following a Bobcat miscue. The Falcons continued
to dictate play over the remainder of the frame, closing out the
set with an 8-5 spurt to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set proved to be much like the first until the Bobcats
took control with a 10-3 run, turning a 14-13 deficit into a 23-17
advantage following a Falcon miscue. Lees-McRae then closed out the
set on kills by Harpenau and Ribas to halve the margin to 2-1 and
force a fourth set.
Pfeiffer rallied from an early 9-6 deficit in the fourth,
launching an 8-5 run to even the tally at 14-14 on the heels of a
4-0 spurt. The Falcons would continue to control the tempo, taking
a 20-16 advantage following a Brophy kill to cap a 6-2 run.
Lees-McRae battled back, trimming the margin to 23-21 with a 4-0
spurt before Pfeiffer shut the door, closing out the set and the
match on a Specian service ace.
Lees-McRae is expected to return 12 letter-winners from this
year's squad, including rising juniors Ramirez, Ribas, Lucas,
Harpenau, Efrain Negron (Caguas, Puerto Rico), Kevin Morrison
(Norfolk, Va.), Chris Flood (Louisville, Ky.), Dylan Kembre (West
Chester, Ohio), Sam Sheers (Centerville, Ohio), and Josh Cothron
(Bradenton, Fla.).
- LMC -
