SALEM, Va. – Lees-McRae men's volleyball sophomore Outside Hitter
Austin Beaird had a career-high 20 kills on a .517 hitting percentage, but the Bobcats fell in five sets to Roanoke on Friday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Roanoke def. Lees-McRae, 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 15-8)
LOCATION: Cregger Center – Salem, Virginia
RECORDS: Roanoke (2-2/0-0); Lees-McRae (0-5/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the first set, the two teams traded points to 20-20 and the Bobcats took the lead after three straight points at 23-20. Lees-McRae earned a set point at 24-22 after a service error from Roanoke and Erel Bardah gave the Bobcats the first set at 25-23 via a kill.
- The Maroons rallied in the second set with a 25-22 set victory after hitting .313 for the set.
- Lees-McRae jumped ahead with the third set victory after leading early in the set at 14-8. Roanoke took the lead at 20-18, but the Bobcats went on 7-0 scoring run on the serve of Abdirahman Ahmed. The Bobcats gained the 2-1 set lead via an attack error by Roanoke's Pierce Faulcon.
- Roanoke forced a fifth set after taking control in the fourth with the 25-14 win. The Maroons took the match in five after a 15-8 fifth set win inside their home gym.
- Lees-McRae recorded a .195 hitting percentage and had 46 kills in five sets. Roanoke tallied a .230 hitting percentage on 52 kills and 23 errors.
- Beaird led the Bobcats with 20 kills and added three service aces, three blocks, and four digs in the match. Bardah followed with seven kills and four blocks. Sebastian Heer registered six kills and Dylan Slated collected five kills in four sets played.
- Merritt Crowe distributed 37 assists for Lees-McRae and contributed a double-double with 10 digs. Isaac LaFunor matched Crowe with 10 digs in the contest.
FOR THE MAROONS:
- Jackson Rutkowski guided the Maroons to their second win of the season with 16 kills and Michael Cummins followed with 15 kills on a .265 hitting percentage. Colin Mendoza had nine kills on an efficient .533 percentage.
- Leo Houser dished out 30 assists in the match and Kaeden Noble had a team-high seven digs.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae continues their play in Salem, Virginia with matches on Saturday against Southern Virginia and Wittenberg.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
