Box score
GAFFNEY, S.C. --- The Limestone College men's
volleyball team rallied from a one-set-to-none deficit en route to
a 3-1 win over Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas play on
Tuesday evening.
Limestone (14-9, 7-2 CC) won the match by scores of 23-25,
25-20, 25-19, and 25-23, holding Lees-McRae (10-9, 4-5 CC) to a
hitting percentage of .136 while attacking at a .260 clip of its
own. The Saints posted 54 kills, 49 digs, and nine blocks, as the
Bobcats tallied 41 smashes, dug out 41 attacks, and recorded nine
stuffs.
John Lucas (Cincinnati, Ohio) paced the Bobcats with 11 kills,
as Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio) added nine smashes. Efrain
Negron (Caguas, Puerto Rico) posted a match-high 17 digs, while
Randy Ramirez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) chipped in 33 assists and
five kills. Joshua Jones (Christmas, Fla.) and Lucas each recorded
a team-high three blocks.
Kevin Hart led the way for Limestone with a double-double,
recording a match-high 13 kills to go along with 11 digs. Andrew
Pile posted a double-double of his own with 44 assists and 10 digs,
as Eric Zaun chipped in 12 kills. Joe Gilliland added 14 digs,
while Scott Warren recorded five blocks (two solo, three
assists).
The first set proved to be a tightly-contested affair, with
Limestone taking a 14-12 lead on back-to-back Bobcat miscues to cap
a 3-0 spurt. After Lees-McRae trimmed the margin to 16-15 and
Limestone answered with three straight points to push the lead to
19-15, the Bobcats countered with an 8-3 run to claim a narrow
23-22 advantage following a Ramirez kill. The Bobcats would cap the
set on a solo block by Jose Ribas (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) to take a
1-0 lead in the match.
Limestone responded in the second, taking an early 12-6 lead
following a service ace by Pile before stretching the margin to
20-12 on the heels of a 6-3 spurt. The Bobcats would answer with an
8-4 run, trimming the lead to 24-20 and fighting off two set points
before Zaun capped the frame with a kill to even the match at
1-1.
The Bobcats controlled play early in the third set, taking a
10-7 lead on a Lucas kill. After Limestone answered with a 3-1
spurt and the Bobcats countered with back-to-back points, the
Saints launched a 10-5 run to claim a 20-18 advantage on a solo
block by Warren. The Saints then closed out the set with a 5-1
spurt to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Limestone would carry the momentum into the fourth, taking an
early 12-8 lead following a Zaun kill before the Bobcats evened the
tally at 12-12 on a block by Lucas and Jones to cap a 4-0 spurt.
The Saints answered with a 7-4 run, claiming a 19-16 advantage
following a Bobcat miscue before Lees-McRae trimmed the margin to
20-18 on a kill by Chris Flood (Louisville, Ky.).
The Saints would answer with three of the next five points,
taking a 23-20 lead on a Pile kill. Lees-McRae fought back, cutting
the advantage to 23-22 following a Saint miscue before Hart tallied
two of the next three points to close out the set and the match for
Limestone.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Wednesday when the Bobcats
host King College in their regular season finale at 7 p.m. in
Williams Gymnasium. The Bobcats will celebrate their senior day
prior to the match's opening serve.
- LMC -
