BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Lees-McRae women's volleyball ended the Big Blue Classic at 3-1 over the past two days with victories over Shorter and hosts Bluefield State. The Bobcats bounced back with a five-set thriller over the Hawks and earned the three-set sweep over the Big Blue on Saturday evening.
GAME 1 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae def. Shorter, 3-2 (25-20, 9-25, 24-26, 25-20, 19-17)
LOCATION: Ned Shott Gymnasium – Bluefield, West Virginia
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (5-1/0-0), Shorter (3-1/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Bobcats used a five-point run at 22-17 and an attack error from Shorter gave Lees-McRae the first set at 25-20.
- The Hawks evened the match with a second-set victory after a five-point run of their own to end the set at 25-9. Shorter took a set advantage with the 26-24 win in set three.
- Lees-McRae matched its hitting percentage from the first set to push the match to a fifth and final set. Clara Duarte set up a set point with a kill at 24-20 and an error from Shorter moved the match to five sets.
- The Bobcats and Hawks went into extra points in the fifth and deciding set. Lees-McRae rallied with three consecutive points for the 19-17 set victory and five-set win over Shorter.
- Rebecca Ryan collected a team-high 12 kills and added six digs and three blocks. Sydney Stigler followed with eight kills, nine digs, four blocks, and two service aces. Nina Vallesi matched Stigler with eight kills and chipped in seven digs.
- Ella Young contributed 13 assists in four sets for the Bobcats to go along with seven digs and two service aces. Karlee Mainor added 12 assists and five digs to her season totals. Emma Summerfield had a team-high 12 digs in five sets played for Lees-McRae.
FOR THE HAWKS:
- Laila Bernardino tallied 17 kills on a .161 hitting percentage. Emily Crocker, Taylor-Reese Howell, and Caroline Sivills joined Bernardino with double-digit kills.
GAME 2 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae def. Bluefield State, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21)
LOCATION: Ned Shott Gymnasium - Bluefield, West Virginia
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (6-1/0-0), Bluefield State (1-7/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae ended its two-day tournament with a familiar foe in Bluefield State. The Bobcats knocked off the Big Blue in three sets in the Ned Shott Gymnasium.
- Stigler recorded her fourth match of the season with double-digit kills with. She had a .455 hitting percentage, three aces, and three digs in the match. Patrycja Rykala joined Stigler in double figures with 10 kills on an efficient .471 hitting percentage.
- Vallesi contributed nine kills, three aces, six digs and Duarte tallied seven kills in three sets.
- Addyson Morgan started the offense for the Bobcats with a match-high 28 assists and Mainor collected 11 assists in the contest.
FOR THE BIG BLUE:
- Imani Stokes had a team-high six kills on a .417 hitting percentage for Bluefield State.
NOTABLE:
- Lees-McRae is off to its best start since 2004 with a 6-1 record and registered the most wins to start a season with four since 2009.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae welcomes Concord on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. for the Bobcats' home opener on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
