Coach Dave Schmidlin's Interview
Junior Brady Markle's Interview
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Junior Brady Markle delivered a match-high 12 kills and the team hit a staggering .400 on the night while the Lees-McRae men's volleyball team cruised past Charleston (W. Va.), 25-16, 25-21, 25-16, in a nonconference tilt Friday evening at Williams Gymnasium in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Bobcats (1-1) claimed their first win of the season by swinging at a nearly perfect .625 clip in the third set while sophomore Keenan Freitas (Mountain View, Hawaii) led the way defensively with a match-high seven digs. The Golden Eagles (1-4) struggled mightily through the first two sets while amassing 12 kills and 11 attack errors.
Following a Gabriel Rivera (Cupey Bajo, Puerto Rico) kill, Drew Blecher (York, Pa.) and Mark Shayka (Hamilton, Va.) stuffed a Ryan Santo attack to put LMC up 14-9 in the first.
Markle (York, Pa.) connected with a kill and consecutive service aces to spark a 5-0 run, 19-11.
The Bobcats used impressive play from Rivera to stave off any rally attempt from CU.
The Golden Eagles swung at a measly -.038 in the opening frame.
Rivera finished with 14 assists, four aces, six kills and two digs.
The Golden Eagles held a slim 7-6 lead after a Rajahl Moxey kill in the second, but Coach Dave Schmidlin's squad ripped off an 9-2 run to take a comfortable 15-9 lead.
Moxey led the visitors with 11 kills while no other player had more than three.
CU charged back to cut the deficit to two, 23-21, after Darrin DePellegrini delivered a kill.
Markle produced two devastating kills to give LMC the two sets-to-none lead.
Blecher sparked a 7-0 run in the third, giving the Bobcats a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He dished out a team-high 16 assists.
LMC took advantage of CU's shaky offensive play and used a John Sobel (Holbrook, N.Y.) kill to complete the sweep.
The Bobcats open Conference Carolinas play when they host Belmont Abbey at 2 p.m. Saturday in Williams Gymnasium.
- LMC -
