BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Junior duo Jordan Banta and Jariliz Cotté combined for 25 kills while the Lees-McRae women's volleyball team dispatched North Greenville, 25-17, 25-19, 25-15 in a sweep during Conference Carolinas play Friday evening in front of a raucous crowd at Williams Gymnasium in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Bobcats (8-5, 4-1 CC) took sole possession of the North Division with the victory and coupled with a King (Tenn.) loss while hitting .250 or better in each set. The Crusaders (10-4, 1-3) never found their rhythm while Yomi Adeyeye led the team with seven kills.
LMC sprinted out to a 9-2 lead thanks to a quartet of Banta (Virginia Beach, Va.) kills to open play.
The Bobcats would keep their lead at seven, 18-11, following a Cotté (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) ace.
Coach Dave Schmidlin's squad never backed down while hitting a match-high .258 in the opening set win.
Sophomore Avalon Liscio (Naples, Fla.) contributed two of her six kills late in the set.
LMC duplicated its early action success when it took an 8-1 lead in the second following a Banta kill. The junior led the match with 13 kills.
NGU rallied back to tie it at 10 after a trio of LMC attack errors and solid play from Adeyeye.
The Crusaders would take their largest lead of the night, 15-12, after a Bobcat attack error.
Freshman Siarra Walker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) got in the mix with two kills and a block assist while LMC ripped off a 13-4 run to take the middle frame.
The Bobcats never trailed in the final set while seeing their lead balloon to eight, 20-12, following shaky offensive play from the Crusaders.
Liscio wrapped up the sweep with a kill while the Bobcat defense held NGU to a -.029 clip.
Junior Allyson Schillinger (Spring Hill, Fla.) enjoyed a double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs.
LMC faces a tough challenge tomorrow at 12 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium when it welcomes South Division-leading Southern Wesleyan for a crucial CC bout.
- LMC -
