SALEM, Va. – Lees-McRae men's volleyball picked up their first win of the season with the three-set sweep of Wittenberg, but fell to Southern Virginia on Saturday afternoon.
Austin Beaird combined for 17 kills in the two matches and
Nicholas Brewster matched a career high with 11 kills in the win over Wittenberg.
GAME 1 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae def. Wittenberg, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 28-26)
LOCATION: Cregger Center – Salem, Virginia
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (1-5); Wittenberg (1-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae held the 23-19 lead in the first set, but the Tigers quickly got back within a point after three consecutive points. Beaird got the Bobcats set point after a kill and a bad set from Wittenberg earned the opening set for Lees-McRae.
- Lees-McRae trailed in the middle stages of the second set, but the Bobcats rattled off seven consecutive points to take a 16-12 lead. Wittenberg tied the set at 21-21, but Lees-McRae used a late 3-0 run to seize the set at 25-23.
- The third set went into extra points after both the Bobcats and Tigers had set points. Lees-McRae earned another set point at 26-25 with back-to-back kills from Beaird and Luke Fincham. The Tigers registered a service error and an attack error to give the Bobcats the set at 28-26 and the three-set sweep.
- Brewster guided the Bobcats to their first victory of the season with 11 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Beaird followed with a double-double on 10 kills and 10 digs. Sebastian Heer recorded seven kills on an impressive .462 hitting percentage and Nelson Castellanos distributed 19 assists over the three sets.
- Ben Ratliff-Becher accumulated 12 assists in the match and Erel Bardah had four total blocks to go along with three kills and two digs.
FOR THE TIGERS:
- Michael Yurk had a team-high 10 kills and added seven digs and two assists for Wittenberg.
GAME 2 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Southern Virginia def. Lees-McRae, 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-15)
LOCATION: Cregger Center - Wise, Virginia
RECORDS: Southern Virginia (4-0); Lees-McRae (1-6)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the second match of the day, Lees-McRae fell to Southern Virginia in straight sets to conclude its road trip to Roanoke.
- Beaird had a team-high seven kills for the Bobcats on a .313 hitting percentage. Brewster and Heer followed with four kills apiece and Dylan Slater added three kills and six digs in his freshman campaign.
- Castellanos collected 19 assists and five digs in the match for the Bobcats.
FOR THE KNIGHTS:
- Christian Sheaffer recorded a match-high 13 kills on an efficient .478 hitting percentage. Jeremy Brown joined him in double-digit kills with 11.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae opens Conference Carolinas play on Friday, Feb. 9 with Barton on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court. The contest with the Bulldogs is also the home opener for the Bobcats.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
