NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Lees-McRae women's volleyball went toe to toe with the third-seeded Emmanuel in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Women's Volleyball Championship on Friday night.
Sydney Stigler led the Bobcats with 17 digs and 11 blocks, but the Bobcats ultimately fell in four sets to the Lions.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 3
Emmanuel def. No. 6 Lees-McRae, 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 26-24, 25-21)
LOCATION: North Charleston Athletic Center
– North Charleston, South Carolina
RECORDS: Emmanuel (20-10/14-3); Lees-McRae (15-10/11-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Stigler guided Lees-McRae on the evening with Destiny Holley and Patrcyja Rykala joining their teammate with double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Rebecca Ryan and Nicole Osborne each recorded nine kills in the match and Osborne contributed 15 digs on the night.
- Lauren Xayavong made multiple plays on the defensive side of the court with 22 digs and added one service ace, one kill, and one assist in her final match with the Bobcats. Bre Adamson joined her with double-digit digs on the night with 10.
- Madison Goins, who earned her 1,000th season assist in the second set for Lees-McRae, dished out 50 assists in the four-set match.
- The Bobcats matched up well with the Lions in their second match of the season with Emmanuel taking the first contest in Banner Elk two Fridays ago.
- In the first set, the Bobcats continued to put pressure on the Lions with a late rally. Three consecutive kills from the Bobcats tightened the set at 22-19 and the Bobcats closed the gap even more at 24-23. The Lions used a kill from Ellie Jackson to take the opener, 25-23.
- Lees-McRae bounced back in a big way in the second with a dominant .471 hitting percentage and added 17 kills in the set. Holley and Osborne combined for a double block to give the Bobcats the set at 25-18.
- The Bobcats continued the momentum into the early stages of the third set after pushing out to an 11-3 lead off three straight kills. Emmanuel battled back to tie the set score at 14-14, but Lees-McRae went ahead at 22-20 off a kill from Stigler. Emmanuel answered with four-point of their own and held set point at 24-22, but the Bobcats knotted the score once again at 24-24 off the service of Hailey Gilreath. Jocelyn Martin finished the set for Emmanuel at 26-24.
- The Bobcats and the Lions went back-and-forth early in the fourth set, but Emmanuel staked out to the 14-10 lead after 4-0 run. Emmanuel held the seven-point margin, but the Bobcats continued to battle in the match with five consecutive points at 21-19. The Lions stopped the scoring run and used a double block from Alaina Emminger and Cailin Pritchard to earn the four-set victory on Friday night.
FOR THE LIONS:
- Alaina Emminger and Emily Hanson led Emmanuel in the victory with 17 and 16 kills respectively. Emminger recorded a .395 hitting percentage on the night.
- Gabrielle McGlamery had 48 assists to go along with five digs, two blocks, one ace, and one kill for the Lions. Asia Queen collected a team-high 18 digs for the Lions.
- Emmanuel will now face No. 2 North Greenville in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae women's volleyball concludes their 2023 season at 15-11 and the Conference Carolinas Northwest Division Champions. The 15 wins is the most in program history since 2014 when the Bobcats went 19-10
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
