WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. --- Junior Jariliz Cotté cranked out a season-high 19 kills and freshman Madison Martin notched her third 20-dig effort while the Lees-McRae women's volleyball team outlasted Winston-Salem State, 25-23, 15-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-12 in a nonconference tilt Wednesday evening at Whitaker Gymnasium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Bobcats (14-7) had to rally to win the final two sets while the defense stepped up and held WSSU to a .032 and .053 clip in the final two sets, respectively. The Rams (11-11) dropped their fourth consecutive decision after winning seven straight.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle, but back-to-back kills from freshman Ana Rodríguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) and junior Allyson Schillinger (Spring Hill, Fla.) put LMC up by two, 20-18.
The Rams rallied back to win the next two points, but suffered self-inflicted wounds thanks to a pair of attack errors to trail 22-20.
Junior Jordan Banta (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded two of her 10 kills to give LMC the opening set.
WSSU responded quickly by jumping out to 12-4 lead.
Martin (Goldsboro, N.C.) delivered an ace and Banta and hometown product Haylee Leonard (Winston-Salem, N.C.) stuffed a Jasmine Smith shot to cut the deficit to five, 16-11.
The Rams finished the set on a 9-4 run and held the Bobcats to a match-low -.182 clip to tie it a one set each.
Cotté (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) and Martin tallied aces to make 17-17 in the third.
WSSU ripped off an 8-3 run despite kills from Leonard and Cotté to take the middle set.
Banta and Leonard produced a pair of kills each while the Bobcats methodically took a 20-16 lead.
Coach Dave Schmidlin's squad swatted the comeback attempt thanks to poor offensive play from the Rams.
LMC used a 7-0 run in the fifth to take a 9-5 lead.
Cotté caught fire after WSSU cut the deficit to one, 11-10, and smashed two kills and ended the contest with an ace.
The Rams had a quartet of players with at least 14 digs.
The Bobcats' Courtney Weathersbee (Raleigh, N.C.) dished out 21 assists while four players had at least three block assists.
LMC hosts King (Tenn.) Saturday at 2 p.m. for a crucial Conference Carolinas match. LMC took a five-set thriller from the Tornado Oct. 14.
- LMC -
