Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Senior Whitney Justice
(Connelly Springs, N.C.) posted a match-high nine kills, and Dana
Oliver (Davie, Fla.) recorded 12 digs to lead the top-seeded
Lees-McRae College women's volleyball team to a three-set sweep of
second-seeded Erskine College in the championship match of the 2010
Conference Carolinas Tournament on Sunday.
Lees-McRae (25-7) won the match by scores of 25-21, 25-23, and
25-12 to punch the program's 12th ticket to the NCAA Division II
women's volleyball championship in the last 13 years, while also
capturing the 12th Conference Carolinas Tournament championship in
school history. The Bobcats posted a solid .235 hitting percentage
in the match, while also tallying seven blocks and holding the
Flying Fleet (20-11) to a .063 clip on the attack.
Justice posted a match-high nine kills, along with a sterling
.412 hitting percentage, to earn Tournament MVP honors. Megan
Epperson (St. John, Ind.) and Taylor Clendenin (Statesville, N.C.)
tallied seven and six kills, respectively, while Megan Mitchell
(Minden, Nev.) chipped in five kills and 26 assists. Oliver and
Lauren Fox (Garland, Texas) recorded match-highs of 12 digs and
four blocks.
Lauren Stewart (Hartwell, Ga.) led the way for the Flying Fleet
with nine kills, while Sandra Campbell (Pilot Point, Texas) and
Mary Crawford James (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) chipped in eight and six
kills, respectively. Larz Chabra (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) posted a
match-high 28 assists, while Jamie Murray (Hermann, Mo.) and Alison
Albers (Goodhue, Minn.) chipped four and three blocks,
respectively.
Justice, Mitchell, and Epperson each earned a spot on the
All-Tournament team, while Erskine's Chabra and Albers represented
the Flying Fleet. Barton's Melissa Ritter (Wescosville, Pa.) and
Queens' Brittney Barren (Ham Lake, Minn.) rounded out the
All-Tournament performers.
The two teams battled back and forth in the first set, with
Lees-McRae opening an early 7-2 lead before Erskine countered with
a 7-2 spurt of its own to even the score at 9-9. After a pair of
quick points by the Bobcats and an answering marker by the Flying
Fleet, LMC launched a 5-0 spurt to take a 16-10 lead on an Erskine
miscue.
Lees-McRae would extend the lead to 21-12 on back-to-back
service aces from Mitchell before Erskine answered, launching a 9-3
spurt to cut the margin to 24-21 on an ace from Julie Jackson
(Greenville, S.C.). The Bobcats then took the set on an Erskine
attack error to claim an early 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set started in much the same fashion as the first,
with neither team able to claim a significant lead until, with the
score at 14-13 in favor of Lees-McRae, the Bobcats launched a 6-3
spurt to claim a 20-16 margin on a kill from Clendenin. The Bobcats
would stretch the margin to 24-18 before Erskine responded with a
valiant effort, overcoming five set points to close the gap to
24-23. Mitchell then delivered the deciding point, placing a
perfect dump into the center of the Erskine court to give LMC a
commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Lees-McRae carried the momentum into the third set, opening the
frame with a 13-3 run that was capped by an emphatic kill from Fox.
Erskine would clip the margin to 14-6 on a pair of LMC miscues
before the Bobcats regained control, launching a 6-2 run to open a
20-8 lead. The Bobcats then tallied five of the final nine points
of the set to claim the set, match, and tournament title on a kill
by Clendenin.
The Bobcats now await the announcement of the 64-team field that
will compete for the 2010 NCAA Division II women's volleyball
national championship, having secured a spot in the field by
claiming the automatic bid from Conference Carolinas. The field
will be announced via webcast on NCAA.com tonight at 10 p.m.
- LMC -
2010 Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team
Melissa Ritter, Barton
Brittney Barren, Queens (N.C.)
Larz Chabra, Erskine
Alison Albers, Erskine
Megan Mitchell, Lees-McRae
Megan Epperson, Lees-McRae
Whitney Justice, Lees-McRae
Tournament MVP: Whitney Justice
