ST. CHARLES, Mo. --- Senior Kevin Morrison recorded a match-high 13 kills while the Lees-McRae men's volleyball impressed on both sides of the ball on its way to a sweep of McKendree, 25-17, 25-21, 25-13, to conclude play at the Lindenwood Classic Saturday morning at Robert F. Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
The Bobcats (4-2) amassed 9.5 blocks while hitting better than .400 in all three sets. The Bearcats (1-7) dropped their sixth consecutive decision and was held to a hitting percentage of .023.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle while the teams were tied at 10. LMC would produce a 5-1 run after Sam Sheers (Centerville, Ohio), Randy Ramirez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in with a kill each.
MU would cut the lead to three (17-14) after an Andrew Schnittker kill, but a pair of kills and a service ace from John Lucas (Cincinnati, Ohio) helped propel the Bobcats claim the opening set.
LMC hit .467 and Efrain Negron (Caguas, Puerto Rico) tallied four digs in the opener.
Consecutive kills from Morrison (Norfolk, Va.) and Mark Shayka (Hamilton, Va.) forced a McKendree timeout while the Bobcats held an 18-12 advantage in the second set.
The Bearcats would make it interesting after a LMC attack error and kill from Michael Polizzi to make it 23-21, but another kill from Morrison and a block by Morrison and Josh Cothron (Bradenton, Fla.) secure the Bobcat second set win.
LMC sprinted out to a 21-9 lead in the final set after a quartet of attack errors by MU and would cruise a 25-13 victory following another Sheers kill.
LMC held McKendree to a -.133 clip while hitting .435 in the finale.
Five Bobcats had at least seven kills while Sheers paced the team with digs.
Morrison and Cothron had five and four block assists, respectively.
LMC returns to action Tuesday when it welcomes Belmont Abbey for a Conference Carolinas bout at 7 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium. This match is a makeup from Jan. 24.
- LMC -
