BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's volleyball ended its 2024 season on a high note with a three-set sweep of King in tonight's "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" match.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae def. King, 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-23)
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (2-26/1-13), King (6-20/4-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Bobcats were firing on all cylinders to begin the match with a 4-1 lead after three consecutive points. Lees-McRae ended the set with three consecutive points off kills from Austin Beaird and Erel Bardah and a King service error.
- Lees-McRae carried the momentum into the second set with a kill from M.J. Doyle and a service ace by Abdirahman Ahmed to open play. King held the 20-16 advantage, but the Bobcats battled back and had a set point at 24-23 off a kill from Nicholas Brewster. Heer collected a kill at 25-24 and an attack error from Tornado gave Lees-McRae set two at 26-24.
- Lees-McRae looked poised to take the match in three as the Bobcats tied the set at 16 points apiece off a service error from King. Beair gave the Bobcats the lead at 22-21 and finished the match with a service ace at 25-23.
- As a team, Lees-McRae had a hitting percentage of .284 with 36 kills and 13 errors. King recorded a percentage of .276 with 40 kills and 16 errors.
- Brewster and Heer paced the Bobcats with eight kills apiece and Doyle followed with seven kills on a .250 hitting percentage. Erel Bardah had five kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
- Ahmed distributed 31 assists in the three sets and tallied two kills, four digs, and one service ace. Isaac LaFunor had six digs in three sets for the Bobcats.
FOR THE TORNADO:
- Kellan Kennedy had a match-high 13 kills on a .722 hitting percentage for the Tornado and Warren Davis joined Kennedy in double-digit kills with 11 on the night.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Lees-McRae split the season series with King as each team took a point in the "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" standings.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae concludes the 2024 season this evening and will now look ahead to the 2025 season.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
