BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Junior Drew Blecher dished out 25 assists and junior Brady Markle cranked out a match-high 23 kills while the Lees-McRae men's volleyball team fell, 17-25, 17-25, 28-26, 19-25, in its Conference Carolinas opener to Pfeiffer Tuesday evening at Williams Gymnasium in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Falcons (2-2, 2-1 CC) played fluid offense by hitting .333 or better in three of the four while a trio of players had a dozen kills. The Bobcats (1-2, 0-1) used a 16-kill effort to claim a tight third set, 28-26.
The first set was a see-saw battle while a John Sobel (Holbrook, N.Y.) notched one of his 11 kills to give LMC an early 6-4 lead.
PU responded with 16-4 run, powered by a pair of David Specian aces and Fabio Diniz block assists.
Specian led the Falcons offense by distributing 46 assists.
Markle (York, Pa.) tallied a pair of kills and a PU service error made it 24-17.
Both teams struggled from the service line while the teams combined for 35 service errors.
PU's Sonny Hirini delivered a kill to conclude the first set.
Hirini impressed with 13 kills and eight digs.
The Falcons led the second set wire-to-wire and jumped out to an 11-6 lead following three consecutive kills from Wyatt Hamilton.
Hamilton matched Hirini with 13 kills.
Sophomore Rudy Klass (Dakar, Senegal) bested Kevin Ecklund with a service ace while LMC trailed 23-17.
PU took the second set while swinging at a .529 clip.
With action tied at eight, the Falcons ripped off an 8-2 run.
LMC responded with a flurry of kills from Sobel and Markle, including three consecutive to end the set, to win it.
The Bobcats hit a team-best .370 in the third.
The final set was close throughout while a Gabriel Rivera (Cupey Bajo, Puerto Rico) kill put LMC up 14-13.
The Falcons retorted with a 10-5 run, sparked by a pair of blocks to squeeze out the final set.
Rivera paced the Bobcats with six digs.
LMC hits the road for the first time this season with a trip to Emmanuel (Ga.) Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Franklin Springs, Ga.
- LMC -
