BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Junior Mark Shayka cranked out a team-high 10 kills and John Sobel amassed four aces, but the Lees-McRae men's volleyball team fell to McKendree, 21-25, 19-25, 19-25, Wednesday evening at Williams Gymnasium in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Bearcats (7-8) swung better than .300 in the final two sets while Andrew Schnittker posted 10 kills. The Bobcats (0-17) saw senior Drew Blecher (York, Pa.) dish out 20 assists.
Shayka (Hamilton, Va.) led the team with six digs.
McKendree jumped out to a 9-4 lead before consecutive kills from Shayka cut the deficit to three, 9-6.
Sobel (Holbrook, N.Y.) and Rudy Klaas (Dakar, Senegal) notched kills, but LMC trailed 17-11.
The Bearcats seemed poised to run away with the set after a Schnittker kill put them up 21-14, however, the Bobcats rallied back with strong play from Shayka, Jack Frank (Tampa, Fla.) and Sobel to spark a 7-2 run.
The visiting squad grabbed the last two points to win the set.
In the second set, McKendree jumped out to another 9-4 lead before a Sobel kill and Bearcat attack error made it 10-7.
After stretching the lead to eight, LMC shaved the deficit to three, thanks to a pair of Sobel aces and two Shayka kills.
McKendree's Brendan Schmidt recorded two of his nine kills to close out the set.
The Bobcats took an 11-8 lead in the third, but McKendree retorted with an 11-3 run, capped off by an ace from Zach Thompson.
The Bearcats finished the contest on a 6-0 run while hitting .308 in the set.
Blecher and Sobel finished with five digs apiece.
LMC welcomes Bluefield College Saturday, March 19 at 2 p.m. in Williams Gym.
- LMC -
