Banner Elk, NC – Southern Wesleyan fell in a 3-0 final on Friday evening to the Lees-McRae Bobcats.
The Warriors totaled 47 kills with Ainsley Stovall leading the team with nine. Michaela Andress and Briley Wolff each had six kills in the match. Of the 36 assists, Rylie Barriger had 15 and Amiyah Spann had 14. Faith Paxton and Barriger each had an ace in the match.
Defensively, the Warriors collected 38 digs in the match. Faith Paxton totaled 10 digs. The Warriors blocked seven attacks by the Bobcats. Megan Gilliland and Briley Wolff each had four blocks.
Match Vitals
Set One: Lees-McRae 25, Southern Wesleyan 22
Set Two: Lees-McRae 26, Southern Wesleyan 24
Set Three: Lees-McRae 25, Southern Wesleyan 23
Record: Southern Wesleyan (6-5 / CC 4-3) Lees-McRae (5-11 / CC 5-3)
How It Happened
Set One
Megan Gilliland kicked off the set for the Warriors as she got the ball down for a kill. However, the Bobcats answered with a kill by Peyton Volk-Tuller. Back-to-back kills by Kaylon Chapman and Ellie Moore put the Warriors on top 5-3. Lees-McRae would not back down as kills by Joy Bateman and Addi Stables put the Bobcats on top by one. Ainsley Stovall looked to get the ball in for a kill, but Karoline Springman and Bateman blocked her attack on the net. The Bobcats continued to block the Warriors attacks on the net to allow them to extend their lead to 12-8. Caylee William went on the attack, but Megan Gilliland and Briley Wolff got up to block her attack on the net. Rylie Barriger served up an ace to put the Warriors back within one. The Warriors continued to fight as Briley Wolff and Stovall each got the ball in for a kill. However, Lees-McRae claimed the first set in a 25-22 final on a kill by Stables.
Set Two
Lees-McRae looked to grab the first point of the second set as Addi Stables went on the attack once again, but Briley Wolff and Megan Gilliland blocked her attack on the net. Wolff followed with a kill to extend the Warriors lead to 2-0. Southern Wesleyan pushed on as Wolff and Ainsley Stovall got the ball down for a couple more kills. The Bobcats cut the Warriors down to one as Joy Bateman and Karoline Springman blocked the next attack by Stovall. Addi Stables put down back-to-back kills to tie the set up at nine. However, the Warriors regained the lead as Michaela Andress got in a couple of kills. The Bobcats went on a run off kills by Peyton Volk-Tuller, Caylee William and Naomi Lockleear. Southern Wesleyan kept the set close as Ainsley Stovall got the ball past the defense for a kill. Elise Fulgham and Sarah Mitchell blocked the next attack by Joy Bateman to tie the set up at sixteen. Faith Paxton set the ball up to Andress who drilled it down for a kill. The Bobcats regained the lead off a couple errors by the Warriors. Briley Wolff tied the set up at twenty-four as she got the ball down for a kill off a set by Amiyah Spann. The Bobcats went on to win the set in a 26-24 final.
Set Three
Lees-McRae was first on the board in the third set as Peyton Volk-Tuller got the ball down for a couple kills. Megan Gilliland got the ball in for a kill to cut the Bobcats lead down to two. Kaylon Chapman and Sarah Mitchell blocked the next attack by Naomi Locklear. Southern Wesleyan fought back as Michaela Andress went on the attack, but Karoline Springman and Joy Bateman were there to block her attacks on the net. A kill by Ainsley Stovall allowed the Warriors to tie the set up at ten. Southern Wesleyan took the lead as Briley Wolff and Gilliland got the ball down for kills. The Bobcats answered as a kill by Addi Stables allowed Lees-McRae to take the lead. Despite some more kills by Kaylon Chapman and Andress, the Bobcats claimed the final set in a 25-23 final.
What's Next
The Warriors will remain on the road on September 26 as they travel to Bristol, TN to take on the King Tornado at 2pm. They will then travel to Young Harris, GA to take on the Young Harris Mountain Lions on September 29. On October 3, the Warriors will travel to Mount Olive, NC to take on the Trojans of the University of Mount Olive.
