BANNER ELK, N.C. – King and Lees-McRae were the final two remaining unbeaten teams in Conference Carolinas coming into tonight and the Bobcats prevailed in five sets over the Tornado.
Michael Marsans tallied a season-high 25 kills and
Bradley Peters had a career-best 55 assists in tonight's victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae def. Emmanuel, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-27, 25-15, 18-16)
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (6-3/3-0), King (8-9/3-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Marsans led the Bobcat in the kills column with 25 and a hitting percentage of .583 to go along with three digs and two total blocks. M.J. Doyle followed with 11 digs and one service ace and Sebastian Heer joined his teammates in double-digit kills with 10.
- Peters showed up for Lees-McRae as he registered a career-high 55 assists to go along with three digs, three blocks, and two service aces.
- In the fifth and final set, the Bobcats jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after three attack errors from the Tornado and Marsans' kill. King bounced back and knotted the game score at 14-14 after a service ace via Warren Davis. The Tornado had a match point on their serve, but Davis made a costly error.
- Lees-McRae rallied after King had another match point at 16-15, but the Bobcats came in clutch with three straight points that was capped off by a Marsans kill.
- The Bobcats had a hitting percentage of .330 to King's .190 with Lees-McRae helding the Tornado to a negative hitting clip in the fourth and fifth set. Lees-McRae had an impressive .421 hitting percentage in the fourth set to send it to a decisive fifth set.
- Ace Backer had nine kills on 15 total attacks to go along with a season-high eight total blocks.
FOR THE TORNADO:
- Davis had a team-high 18 kills and recorded three services and three digs in tonight's match. Jackson Carroll joined Davis in double-digit kills with 13.
- Jack Sarnowski, reigning Conference Carolinas Specialist of the Week, distributed 38 assists and two kills in the evening.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Lees-McRae picked up the point in the first men's volleyball matchup of the "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" this evening and Lees-McRae Athletics now holds the 6-5 overall advantage.
- Lees-McRae men's volleyball earned their first win over King since 2014 and owns the top spot in the Conference Carolinas standings at 3-0.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's volleyball hosts non-conference opponent Fort Valley State on Thursday, Feb. 16 on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
