BANNER ELK, N.C. --- The junior duo of Jariliz Cotté and Jordan Banta teamed up with sophomore Avalon Liscio to combine for 31 kills while the Lees-McRae women's volleyball team dispatched Barton, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18, in Conference Carolinas action Saturday afternoon at Williams Gymnasium in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Bobcats (13-7, 8-3 CC) claimed their 13th win on the season, most since 2011, and currently hold a one game lead over King (Tenn.) and Belmont Abbey in the North Division. The Bulldogs (7-13, 5-5) struggled offensively by hitting .000 on the day and dropped their third consecutive match.
A trio of Bobcats jumpstarted the LMC offense to an 11-4 lead in the opening set.
A Siarra Walker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Banta (Virginia Beach, Va.) block and BC attack error kept the lead at seven, 16-9.
The Bulldogs rallied back to shave the deficit to two, 17-15, following a quartet of Bobcat attack errors.
LMC responded with a 7-2 run and Liscio (Naples, Fla.) notched one of her match-high 12 kills while the Bulldogs hit a match-low -.030.
Liscio tallied another four kills while LMC sprinted out to a 14-4 lead in the second set.
The Bobcats kept the lead at 10, 20-10, following a trio of Banta kills.
Coach Dave Schmidlin's squad finished strong and claimed the second set while hitting a match-best .367.
BC's Shae Schmidt connected on one of her team-high eight kills to give the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead early in the third.
Cotté (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) caught fire and tallied three of her nine kills to spark an 8-0 run.
A Haylee Leonard (Winston-Salem, N.C.) kill pushed the lead to six, 19-13.
Freshman Ana Rodríguez delivered an ace to conclude play.
Junior Allyson Schillinger (Spring Hill, Fla.) impressed with 29 assists, a pair of aces and eight digs. Cotté paced both teams with 13 digs.
The Bobcats head to Winston-Salem State for a nonconference tilt Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in Winston-Salem, N.C.
- LMC -
