BRISTOL, TENN. –
Sydney Stigler and the Lees-McRae women's volleyball earned a four-set victory at King this evening as Stigler led the Bobcats with 21 kills and 17 digs in the first "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" match of the season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae def. King, 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 29-27)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex -- Bristol, Tennessee
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (4-4/1-0); King (3-6/1-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Stigler's 21 kills is a season high and she now has four double-doubles on the season for Lees-McRae.
- Lees-McRae had an efficient night on offense with a hitting percentage of .260 and 58 kills. King was held to a hitting percentage of .117 with 33 kills on the night.
- Nina Vallesi contributed 12 kills, five digs, and three service aces and Patrycja Rykala joined her fellow Bobcats in double figures with 10 kills and four total blocks.
- Madison Goins started the attack for Lees-McRae with 46 assists and Lauren Xayavong collected a match-high 25 digs.
- The Bobcats raced out to a first-set lead with a double block by Goins and Rebecca Ryan setting up a set point at 24-18. Stigler finished the first set with a kill at 25-18.
- Lees-McRae used their first-set momentum into the second as the Bobcats had a hitting percentage of .481 in the stanza with 15 kills. Stigler once again finished the set off in a fashion with another kill for the Bobcats at 25-20.
- King rallied in the third set after Lees-McRae started the third with three straight points. The Tornado rattled off four consecutive points to claim the set at 25-19.
- Lees-McRae came out in the fourth on fire with three straight points and held the 17-12 lead in the middle of the set. King rallied after a five-point streak at 24-22, but an attack from Goins tied the set at 24-24. Rykala gave the Bobcats match point at 28-27 and the double block from Destiny Holley and Vallesi gave the match to the Bobcats with a double block.
FOR THE TORNADO:
- Hailee Blankenship had a team-high eight kills for King in the contest and Katie Harless and Abigail Jayne followed with six kills apiece.
- Harless dished out 16 assists in the match and Kylie Love registered 10 assists and seven digs.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Lees-McRae earned the first point of the 2023-24 "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" with the 3-1 victory at King this evening.
- The Bobcats have won back-to-back matches at King for the first time since 2011.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae returns to the McNair & Debi Tornow Court on Saturday afternoon as they will host Belmont Abbey at 2 p.m. The theme for Saturday's match is Superhero Saturday/Gold Out.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
