Banner Elk, NC – #1 Lees-McRae College defeated #2 Erskine College in straight sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-12) to win the 2010 Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. It is the 12th women’s volleyball championship for Lees-McRae College in the last thirteen years.
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 Megan Mitchell before Erskine answered, launching a 9-3 spurt to cut the margin to 24-21 on an ace from Julie Jackson. 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 Taylor 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 a kill from Lauren 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.
Lauren Stewart (Hartwell, GA, Hart County High School) led the way for the Flying Fleet with nine kills, while Sandra Campbell (Pilot Point, TX, USC-Upstate) and Mary Crawford James (Mt. Pleasant, SC, Bishop England High School)chipped in eight and six kills, respectively. Larz Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, SC, Wando High School)posted a match-high 28 assists, while Jamie Murray (Hermann, MO, East Central CC) and Alison Albers (Goodhue, MN, Iowa Lakes CC)chipped four and three blocks, respectively.
Lees-McRae’s Whitney Justice, Megan Mitchell, and Megan 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.
Erskine ends the season 20-11 overall and 14-4 in conference.
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