Box Score WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise volleyball team was tripped up by Lees-McRae College Tuesday night in the Cavaliers' home opener at the David J. Prior Convocation Center. The visiting Bobcats (2-6) took three out of four sets off the Cavs (0-9) as they earned set wins in the first (25-19), third (25-15) and fourth (25-13) sets. UVa-Wise won a competitive second set by a tally of 25-21.
 
Hitting 42 kills but with an attack percentage of .169, the Cavs witnessed Lees-McRae record 53 total kills and hit .316 for the match. Eight aces by the Bobcats and a total of 19 attack errors by UVa-Wise, 10 of which came in the final set, didn't help the Cavs' cause.
 
After being tied up at 9-9 in the opening set, Lees-McRae won 13 of the next 16 points to take a commanding 22-12 lead on UVa-Wise. The Cavs began to make a comeback and get within five but the Bobcats held on for the 25-19 first-set victory. UVa-Wise jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the second set, forcing a Lees-McRae timeout before building an eight-point lead at 23-15. The Bobcats won six of the last eight points of the set but the Cavs were able to hold on for the second-set victory with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Ciara Kain (Leesburg, Va.)
 
An even start to the third set by both teams resulted in a 10-10 tie before Lees-McRae rattled off three consecutive points, leading to an UVa-Wise timeout. Hitting .517 for the set, the Bobcats went on to win 12 of the next 17 points en route to a 25-15 victory. After taking a very early 3-0 lead in what proved to be the final set, the Cavs struggled to get points as Lees-McRae strung together multiple scoring runs and clinched the match with a 25-13 set win. UVa-Wise was only able to manage a -.156 attack percentage and five kills in the fourth set.
 
The Cavs were led on offense by Kain with 12 kills and senior defensive specialist/outside hitter Erin Anderson (Richmond, Va.), who added 10 of her own. Senior right side hitter Simona Zduoba (Boyce, Va.) made a season and match-high five total blocks, while freshman setter Morgan Milligan (Bridgewater, Va.) assisted on 34 of the Cavs' 42 kills and served up a match-high three aces. Senior libero Erin Lee (Fincastle, Va.) made a team-high 14 digs for UVa-Wise.
 
The Bobcats were led by Haylee Leonard and Elissa Small, who tallied 12 and 11 kills respectively. Lees-McRae's Madigan Gonzales had four blocks as Courtney Weathersbee accounted for 30 assists, 16 digs and two aces. Leonard and Lexi Zangari each contributed two aces as well, while Madison Martin made 20 of the Bobcats' 60 digs.
 
The Cavs are back in action this weekend playing at the West Liberty University/WJU Invitational in West Liberty, West Virginia. UVa-Wise takes on Clarion University Friday at 11 a.m. before facing Seton Hill University at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Cavs will play Slippery Rock University and Mercyhurst University.
 
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