Due West, SC – Erskine dropped three straight sets (21-25, 16-25, and 10-25) to Lees-McRae College in their final regular season conference match. Lauren Stewart (Hartwell, GA/Hart Co. H.S.) paced the young Fleet team with 9 kills, 7 digs, and 2 service aces.
In the first set, the Fleet played well against the 1st place Bobcats, led by Lauren Stewart’s five kills. After closing to within three points, Megan Epperson (St. John, IN/Lake Central H.S.) smashed a hard spike past the diving Fleet defense to win the set 25 to 21.
Erskine’s strong play continued into the 2nd set as the Fleet got an early 3 point lead with two blocks by Alison Albers (Goodhue, MN/Iowa Lakes CC) and a well-placed service ace by Lauren Stewart. The Fleet held the lead midway through the set at which point Megan Epperson led the Bobcats on a 10 to 4 run with three consecutive kills. The Bobcats would go on to win the set 25 to 16.
The final set was all Lees-McRae (25 to 10) as Megan Epperson and Whitney Justice (Connelly Springs, NC/East Burke H.S.) each had 3 kills and Luana Rocha (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Marista H.S.) added three service aces.
In just their first year, the Fleet conclude their regular season 10-8 in conference and 13-18 overall. Erskine finishes in 6th place in Conference Carolinas and will face either Limestone College or Anderson University in the first round of the conference tournament depending on today’s outcomes. The first round games are scheduled for Tuesday with game time at 6:30 p.m.
