Lees-McRae ousts Trojans
By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on November 10, 2010 1:47 PM
MOC Sports Information
BANNER ELK -- Eighth-seeded Mount Olive College fell to top-seeded and regular-season champion Lees-McRae 25-12, 25-15, 25-7 in opening-round play of the 2010 Conference Carolinas women's volleyball tournament Tuesday evening.
The Trojans, who had reached the tournament by winning three of their last five matches, ended the year 7-23 overall.
Carly White had four kills and two blocks for Mount Olive, while Erika Conner added four kills and six digs. Feliz Ramirez recorded a team-high seven digs, and senior Kailey Preece finished with 15 assists in her final collegiate match.
Lees-McRae (23-7 overall) was paced by Megan Epperson, who had 10 kills. Whitney Justice added seven kills and a match-high five aces, and Taylor Clendenin chipped in six kills.
The Bobcats got out to a big early lead in all three sets.
In the opening set, four attack errors and two service errors put the Trojans down 7-3 and forced an early timeout. An ace by Justice, a kill by Epperson and a block by Lauren Fox and Megan Mitchell extended Lees-McRae's lead to 10-3, and Mount Olive would get no closer.
In set two, two aces by Justice and another by Mitchell, along with two kills by Epperson, helped the Bobcats to a 9-2 lead. Lees-McRae dominated the beginning of the third set, rolling off 14 consecutive points on four blocks, three kills, two aces and five Mount Olive errors.
The Trojans had just 16 kills as a team for the match.