HICKORY, N.C. – Lees-McRae women's volleyball opened its season on Friday afternoon at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational. The Bobcats fell to non-conference opponent Catawba in five sets to start the day and dropped a three-set match to Lenoir-Rhyne.
GAME 1 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Catawba def. Lees-McRae, 3-2 (25-17, 17-25, 25-14, 18-25, 15-6)
LOCATION: Shuford Memorial Coliseum – Hickory, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (0-1), Catawba (1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Catawba took the opening set by a score of 25-17 as the Bobcats were held to a -.054 hitting percentage in the opening stanza.
- Lees-McRae evened the match at one set apiece after flipping the script in the second set with a 25-17 win. The Bobcats recorded 15 kills in the second frame.
- Catawba recorded the third set with a 25-14 score line, but Lees-McRae forced a fifth and final set with a fourth-set win at 25-18.
- In the fifth set, Catawba collected the win with the 15-6 set.
- Sydney Stigler led the way for the Bobcats with a double-double after 16 kills on a .227 hitting percentage and 11 digs in the contest. Rebecca Ryan followed with eight kills on a .350 hitting percentage. Clara Duarte and Peyton Volk-Tuller matched with seven kills for the Bobcats. Iza Rosin produced 32 assists in five sets and Lauren Newcomer had a team-high 15 digs.
- Three Catawba Indians had double-digit kills on the afternoon with Sofia Beard registering 15 kills on 51 swings.
GAME 2 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lenoir-Rhyne def. Lees-McRae, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-14)
LOCATION: Shuford Memorial Coliseum - Hickory, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (0-2), Lenoir-Rhyne (1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae looked to bounce back in its second match of the day against the hosts from Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears earned the match with a three-set sweep.
- Ryan had a team-high five kills for the Bobcats. Stigler and Karoline Springman tallied four kills in three sets. Newcomer collected 11 digs on the defensive end and Rosin had 18 assists in the contest.
- Kayli Cleaver had a match-high 15 kills for Lenoir-Rhyne and Emmie Modlin started the attack with 17 assists.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae faces Florida Tech for its final match of the opening weekend tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. in Hickory, North Carolina.
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