Photo Courtesy of Queens Athletics
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lees-McRae College men's volleyball team battled but ultimately fell in its season-opening match at Queens University of Charlotte Friday night in four sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 25-18).
First Set – The opening set of Friday's match was tightly contested for its entirety. After Queens scored the first three points of the frame, the Bobcats clawed back to take a lead at 8-7. The two teams would continue to take turns with the lead for the rest of the stanza with no lead being larger than two points. After a Royal service error made it 24-23, the Bobcats had a chance to extend the match past the normal 25-point mark, but a Queens kill finished off the set, 25-23.
Second Set – Following the tight first set, the second frame of the night was a little bit more one-sided. Queens got its offense clicking hitting an impressive .375 with 17 kills in the second. The Bobcats, meanwhile, were held to a .143 attack percentage with seven kills. The difference in offensive production played a factor in the final score going way of Queens, 25-17.
Third Set – Facing a three-set defeat, Lees-McRae put together easily its best set of the match in the third. The Bobcat offense attacked at .359 clip with 16 kills. Not to be denied, Queens put together another 17-kill outburst in the frame. With the two offenses clicking so well, it was no surprise that the two teams needed a few extra points to decide a winner. With the score knotted at 25, Queens committed a service and attack error to give LMC its first set victory of the 2020 campaign, 27-25.
Fourth Set – Lees-McRae was able to maintain that momentum well into the fourth set. After a Chris Woolslayer made it 17-15 Queens, the Royals put together a stellar offensive run scoring eight of 11 points to finish off Friday's match with a 25-18 set victory.
Stat Standouts – Like he did many times in 2019, Drew Sims led the Bobcat offense in the team's first match of 2020 with 16 kills on 38 attacks. Woolslayer finished the night with a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 12 digs, while freshman Steven Nalls picked up 10 kills in his collegiate debut. Fellow freshman Bradley Peters dished out 33 assists to go along with five kills on 10 attacks to help the cause.
Next Up - Lees-McRae will return to action next Friday when it travels to Missouri to take on Lindenwood University. First serve for that contest is scheduled for 8 p.m.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow us on our social media sites on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics) and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
