FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. --- Lees-McRae sophomore Avalon Liscio delivered a match-high 11 kills and the defense held Emmanuel (Ga.) to .135 or under while cruising to a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 sweep in Conference Carolinas action Saturday afternoon at Shaw Athletic Center in Franklin Springs, Ga.
The Bobcats (18-9, 11-5 CC) clinched the No. 2 seed in the North Division while freshman Madison Martin (Goldsboro, N.C.) had a team-high 19 digs. The Lions (12-15, 5-11) honored five seniors to the match while Sophie Windover paced the team with 19 digs.
No player on EC had more than four kills.
Liscio (Naples, Fla.) connected on three consecutive kills to give LMC an early 6-2 lead in the opening set.
Junior Jordan Banta (Virginia Beach, Va.) notched consecutive services aces before a pair of Lion errors made it 16-10.
Freshman Taylor Hicks (Blountville, Tenn.) capped off a flawless first set with a service ace while LMC hit a match-high .323.
A Siarra Walker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) block and Jariliz Cotté (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) kill put Coach Dave Schmidlin's squad up 16-10 in the second.
The lead ballooned to seven after junior Allyson Schillinger (Spring Hill, Fla.) smashed her lone kill of the afternoon, 22-15.
The Bobcats thwarted any attempt at a rally when Cotté and Banta blasted consecutive kills.
The Lions struggled offensively in the second by hitting -.026.
EC used an Andrea Quintanilla ace to take an 8-7 lead in the third.
LMC responded with 10-4 run, capped off by another Hicks ace to take a 17-12 lead.
The Lions took advantage of a service error to cut the deficit to one, 21-20, but LMC clamped down and used a Banta block assist and kill to cap off the sweep.
Schillinger dished out 26 assists and had 12 digs.
The Bobcats host No. 3 South Division seed North Greenville in a CC Quarterfinal Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Banner Elk, N.C.
- LMC -
