WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. --- The junior duo of Allyson Schillinger and Jariliz Cotté proved lethal while the Lees-McRae women's volleyball team swept Tuskegee before defeating West Virginia St. in four sets to conclude the Winston-Salem State Invitational at the C.E. Gaines Center Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Lees-McRae 3, Tuskegee 0
TU (2-1) jumped out of the gate with a 5-0 spurt before a trio of Ana Rodríguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) service aces capped off a 12-2 LMC (3-1) run in the opening set.
The Bobcats would hold the Golden Tigers at arms' length while the trio of Jordan Banta (Virginia Beach, Va.), Haylee Leonard (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Cotté (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) combined for seven kills to claim the first set, 25-17.
Coach Dave Schmidlin's squad held TC to a match-low -.043 clip in the first.
The second set would be a see-saw battle after TC's Tesharia Judkins delivered a service error, knotting the set at nine.
The Bobcats ripped off a 13-4 run after freshman Taylor Hicks (Bountville, Tenn.) cranked out three service aces.
The Golden Tigers wouldn't back down after a late 4-0 run cut the deficit to four, 24-20, but an LMC kill squashed any opportunity of a comeback.
LMC hit a blistering .424 in the final set and produced a 12-0 off the arm of Schillinger (Spring Hill, Fla.).
The Bobcats proved relentless as they cruised to a 25-8 victory in the third.
Hicks, Schillinger and Rodríguez led the squad with six digs each while Cotté (10) and Banta (nine) paced the squad offensively in kills.
Lees-McRae 3, West Virginia St. 1
The Bobcats surpassed their win total from last season (two) with a four-set victory against WVSU (2-2), 25-18, 18-25, 25-12, 25-13.
The Yellow Jackets looked poised to grab the first, but LMC produced a 10-1 run thanks to impressive play from its front three to take a 23-16 lead.
A Siarra Walker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) kill and Cotté ace gave the Bobcats the opening set.
WVSU was sharp in the second set while hitting at a .556 clip and taking it 25-18.
Sophomore Avalon Liscio (Naples, Fla.) got in the mix with kill, block assist and solo block during a 13-0 LMC run in the third.
Cotté delivered consecutive kills while the Bobcats held the Yellow Jackets to a match-low 12 points.
Schmidlin's team didn't back down in the final set using a 5-0 and 6-0 run, respectively, and hitting .333.
Liscio and Walker concluded the day's action in style with a combined block on the final play.
LMC returns to action Friday, Sept. 12 at the USC-Aiken Invitational when it plays Newberry at 1 p.m. and Palm Beach Atlantic at 3 p.m. in Aiken, S.C.
- LMC -
