BRISTOL, Tenn. –
M.J. Doyle,
Michael Marsans and
Ethan Gardner finished with a combined 25 kills, but it was not enough as fifth-seeded King held a 53-35 edge in kills to clinch a straight-set victory over No. 8 Lees-McRae in the first round of the Conference Carolinas postseason tournament.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King (Tenn.) def. Lees-McRae, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-18)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex – Bristol, Tennessee
RECORDS: King (Tenn.) (11-12), Lees-McRae (2-19)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Doyle finished with a team-high 11 kills to go along with six digs and a block assist.
- Gardner and Marsans both tallied seven kills, with Gardner posting a .583 hitting percentage in his final game as a Bobcat.
- Riley Chapman chipped in 32 assists, while Bradley Peters added six digs and two block assists.
- Lees-McRae battled in the first set by matching the Tornado kill-for-kill and used an attacking error by King to trim the deficit to 21-20.
- The Tornado rattled off four of the next six points to claim a 25-22 win in set one.
- Both teams traded runs in the second stanza with a late run by the Bobcats cutting the deficit to 19-18, before King closed the set on a 6-1 run to post a 25-19 win in set two.
- Lees-McRae rallied late for the third-consecutive set to trim the deficit to 24-18 in the third set.
- The Tornado used a final service error to clinch the opening round victory.
- The Bobcats held a 5-1 edge in blocks, while King finished with a game-high 32 digs.
FOR THE FOES:
- Joshua Kim, Diego Marcano and Jackson Carroll all finished with double-digit kills to pace the Tornado.
- JT Deppe chipped in a game-high 46 assists.
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