Women’s Volleyball: Lenoir-Rhyne snaps Lady Bobcats' win streak; LMC Sweeps Lander
The Lenoir-Rhyne University (LRU) volleyball team rallied to defeat the Lees-McRae College (LMC) women's volleyball team in a five-set thriller on Friday, October 22 in Shufford Gymnasium, tallying the final 10 points of the fifth frame to end the LMC’s 13-match winning streak.
LRU (10-11) won the match by scores of 25-14, 17-25, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-10, tallying 18 blocks and holding the LMC (16-7) to a .129 hitting percentage. The Bears posted a .125 hitting percentage in what was a decidedly defensive match, as the teams combined for 28 blocks and 144 digs.
Megan Epperson turned in a double-double with 18 kills and 19 digs, and Megan Mitchell tallied a double-double of her own with 12 digs and a match-high 48 assists. Lauren Fox chipped in 11 kills, while Whitney Justice posted nine kills and 13 digs. Taylor Clendenin added seven kills and a match-high 19 digs.
Chelsea Hill tallied 13 kills and 11 blocks to pace the Bears. Cayla Crawley posted 10 kills and nine digs, while Kaitlyn Burton tallied a double-double with 34 assists and 17 digs. Brooke Christenbury just missed a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs for the Bears.
LRU jumped out to an early lead in the first set, tallying the first eight points of the frame before extending the margin to 13-2 with a 5-2 spurt. After LRU pushed the margin to 16-3, LMC battled back, tallying the next four points to trim the advantage to 16-8. LRU then closed out the 25-14 set win with a 9-6 run.
LMC responded in the second set, opening an early 7-1 lead on a solo block by Mitchell before LRU rallied, cutting the margin to 14-11 with a 10-7 run of their own. LMC countered with a 5-0 spurt, stretching the lead to 19-11 on a kill by Fox before closing out the 25-17 second-set win to even the match at 1-1.
LRU came out strong in the third set, opening an early 7-1 lead before the LMC rallied to trim the margin to 9-7. LRU continued to dictate the flow of play, responding with a 7-1 run to open a 16-8 advantage on an LMC attack error. LMC cut the margin to 20-19 with an 11-4 spurt, and later fought off three set points before LRU tallied the final marker to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
LMC battled back in the fourth set, rallying from an early deficit to even the score at 10-10 on a service ace by Taylor Stice. LMC battled through seemingly countless tie scores, tallying three of the set's final four points to send the match to a decisive fifth frame with a 25-23 win.
LMC took control early in the fifth set, opening the frame with an 8-3 spurt that was capped by a kill from Epperson. LRU battled back, and with LMC holding a 10-5 lead, launched a decisive 10-0 run to complete the upset with a 15-10 fifth-set win.
Last Saturday, October 23, Megan Epperson posted her second straight double-double, notching match-highs of 13 kills and 12 digs, to pace the LMC to a three-set sweep of visiting Lander University in Williams Gymnasium.
LMC (17-7) won the match in straight sets by scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-13, while holding Lander (9-12) to a .027 hitting percentage on the day. LMC posted a .237 hitting percentage of their own, while notching 52 digs and five blocks en route to their 14th win in their last 15 matches.
Epperson led the way for LMC, posting the match-high in kills for the second day in a row, while Justice notched 11 kills and a scorching .455 hitting percentage. Mitchell tallied a match-high 36 assists, as Fox and Stice tallied 11 and nine digs, respectively. Clendenin chipped in with eight kills and eight digs.
Melissa McCracken paced Lander with six kills, while Courtney Simmons and Magi Nottingham each tallied five kills. McCracken and Nottingham also led the way for Lander with seven and six digs, respectively, as Madison Kubal chipped in six digs.
Lander jumped out to an early lead in the first set, opening the frame with a 9-5 run and extending the margin to 12-7 on a block by Jordan Rix and Hannah Dederick. LMC battled back, launching a 9-3 spurt to take a 16-15 lead before Justice pushed the margin to 21-18 with an emphatic kill.
Lander fought back later in the set, reeling off three straight points while facing a 24-21 deficit to even the score at 24-24. LMC then closed out the frame with back-to-back points to take a 1-0 lead in the match with a 26-24 first-set win.
LMC carried momentum into the second set, surging to an early 6-2 lead on a pair of kills from Fox before stretching the lead to 12-6 with a 6-4 spurt. Lander scored three of the next four points, trimming the margin to 13-10 before LMC went on a 6-3 spurt of its own to push the advantage to 19-13. LMC closed out the stanza with five of the final seven points to notch a 25-18 second-set win, and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
LMC started the third set in much the same way as the second, opening an early 9-2 lead before extending the margin to 12-3 on a pair of Lander errors. LMC continued to dictate play, launching a 10-5 run to take a 22-8 lead on Epperson's 13th kill of the match. Lander trimmed the margin to 23-12 with a 4-1 spurt, before LMC closed out the set and the match with two of the frame's final three points.
LMC returns to the court this Wednesday, October 27, when they host Belmont Abbey College. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.
Cross Country: LMC Places at Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational
Craig Simpkins finished fourth to lead a trio of Bobcats in the top 10, as the LMC men's cross country team posted a second-place finish at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational on Saturday.
Simpkins posted his third top-five finish of the season, crossing the finish line with a time of 26:05.6, while Michael Davis and Sondre Thorbergsen placed ninth and 10th, respectively. Austin High finished 20th, while Will McCoy and Jordan Gillespie placed 26th and 31st respectively, to help LMC to its best showing of the season.
Mars Hill College finished first overall in the team competition, placing five runners in the top-20 to capture the team crown with 40 points. LMC finished second with 64 points, followed by host Lenoir-Rhyne (68), Belmont Abbey College (101), and Brevard College (149). Pfeiffer University (180) placed sixth, followed by Limestone College (184), Newberry College (191), and Tusculum College (213).
On the women’s side, Hannah Henderson posted her third top-10 finish of the season at the Lenoir-Rhyne University Invitational, leading LMC to a fifth-place showing.
Henderson paced LMC with a fifth-place finish, crossing the line with a time of 19:43.3 while Kira Shomaker turned in a time of 20:39.7 en route to an 18th-place showing. Crystal Fischer and Erica Zaveta finished 37th and 40th respectively, while Cinthia Lehner placed 42nd. Heather Peterman and Rayne Delutis finished 52nd and 53rd respectively, to round out the top performers for LMC.
Host Lenoir-Rhyne tallied 48 points to take first place in the team competition, while Belmont Abbey College (108), University of Charleston (112), Mars Hill College (113), and LMC (142) rounded out the top five. USC Aiken finished sixth with 145 points, followed by Limestone College (146), Erskine College (160), Brevard College (202), Pfeiffer University (206), and Newberry College (271).
LMC returns to the course on Nov. 5 when the Bobcats travel to Charlotte, N.C. to take part in the Conference Carolinas Championship.
The Lees-McRae College women’s basketball team is picked to finish eighth in the race for the 2010-11 Conference Carolinas championship, announced league officials with the release of the preseason coaches’ poll.
Basketball: Women Tapped Eighth, Men Tenth in Preseason Polls
LMC returns eight letter-winners from last year’s squad, including senior Erin Thompson. LMC received 34 points in this year’s poll, placing them eighth in the league coaches’ prediction of the season’s final standings.
Barton College is picked first in this year’s poll, having received five first-place votes and 93 total points after capturing the program’s second straight conference title last season. Mount Olive is predicted to finish second, garnering three first-place votes and 79 total points. Queens University of Charlotte is tied for second with Mount Olive, receiving 79 total points and two first-place votes, while Limestone College is fourth with two first-place votes and 76 total points. Belmont Abbey College is tabbed fifth in the poll with 73 points, followed by Pfeiffer University (61), Erskine College (48), and LMC (34). Coker College and Converse College are picked to finish tied for ninth with 23 points each, while St. Andrews is tabbed 11th with 16 points.
LMC opens its exhibition schedule on Saturday, Oct. 30 when the Lady Bobcats make the short trip to Boone, N.C. to take the floor against ASU. Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m. LMC will open their 2010-11 campaign on Nov. 18 when they host Tennessee Wesleyan University at 6 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.
The LMC men’s basketball team is picked to finish 10th in the race for the 2010-11 Conference Carolinas championship, announced league officials.
Limestone College is picked to finish first in the race for the 2010-11 Conference Carolinas title, receiving five first-place votes and 74 total points. Barton College garnered three first-place votes and 69 points to earn the second spot in the poll, followed by defending league champion Mount Olive College, who received two first-place votes and 68 points.
Queens University of Charlotte is tabbed fourth in the poll with 53 points, followed by Belmont Abbey College (48), Pfeiffer University (47), and Coker College (29). St. Andrews Presbyterian College is picked to finish eighth with 26 points, followed by Erskine College (22), and LMC (14).
The Bobcats open the 2010-11 season on Nov. 4 when they travel to Boone, N.C. for a 7 p.m. exhibition against ASU. LMC will open the campaign on Nov. 15 when the Bobcats travel to take on Mars Hill College at 7 p.m.
