BANNER ELK, N.C. – Volleyball dropped its non-conference contest against Less-McRae on the road Tuesday night, 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24). The Cavaliers took the first set, but the Bobcats would win three straight to take the match.
Lees-McRae (2-8) went ahead early in the first set, up 6-2 over UVa-Wise. The Bobcats and the Cavs continued to battle, until Lees-McRae took a two-point advantage later in the set, 19-17, forcing a Cavalier timeout. UVa-Wise regained the lead late to pull ahead by two points, 24-22, causing the Bobcats to take a timeout. A Lees-McRae error out of the break sealed the win for the Cavs as they took set one, 25-22.
Down to start the second set, UVa-Wise (1-7) fought back to take a three-point advantage over Lees-McRae, 15-12. The two teams continued to exchange the lead until the Bobcats used a 3-0 run to go ahead of the Cavs once more. Sophomores Matelyn Gibson and Abigail Byington's back-to-back kills for the Cavs put UVa-Wise down by just one point late, but the Bobcats went on to earn the set victory, 25-23.
Lees-McRae continued its hot starts into the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. UVa-Wise later used its own 4-0 run to get within one point of the Bobcats, 11-10, but the Cavs continued to trail late as Lees-McRae went ahead, 20-16. UVa-Wise capitalized on another run to get within two points, 22-20, but Lees-McRae would win three consecutive points to close out the set with a 25-20 victory.
UVa-Wise trailed to begin the fourth set, but managed to temporarily take the lead before the Bobcats went ahead 15-12 over the Cavs. Lees-McRae maintained the lead throughout the set until UVa-Wise climbed from behind to knot the set at 24-24. The Bobcats would win the final two points of the match to take set four, 26-24, and earn a 3-1 match victory.
Gibson led the Cavs in kills with 15 while fellow sophomore Kelsey Green followed with 10 kills. Senior Morgan Milligan posted a match-high 28 digs while senior Briana Kerr added 16 digs. Junior Makayla Ledford tallied a double-double with a team-high 21 assists and 12 digs on the night.
Freshman Zoe Avery notched a season-high 15 assists while junior Brooke Abbott finished with seven kills and a .389 attack percentage.
Head coach Kristen Salyer's team returns to the court Friday night for a 7 p.m. match against Catawba College inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
