BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Converse Volleyball team defeated Lees-McRae 3-1 on Saturday afternoon inside Williams Gymnasium.
With the win the Valkyries improve to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in Conference Carolinas action. Converse is now 3-0 in Northwest Division matches with wins over King, Lees-McRae and North Greenville. With the loss Lees-McRae is now 3-9 overall on the season and 3-2 in Conference Carolinas play. The Bobcats are now second in the Northwest Division with a 1-1 record.
Early in the opening set Converse trailed 14-9 to Lees-McRae, the Valkyries stayed composed and used a 3-0 spurt to pull within a pair of points at 14-12 of the Bobcats. Trailing 17-14, Converse made their second move of the first set. This time the Valkyries won six straight points to take a 20-17 advantage over Lees-McRae. Converse was able to hold onto the late momentum and won the opening set 25-22 over the Bobcats.
In the second set Converse ran out to a 12-0 advantage over Lees-McRae. The 12-0 spurt was the Valkyries longest of the season eclipsing a 10-0 run against Auburn University Montgomery earlier in the season. Needless to say, Converse bulldozed over the Bobcats in the second set winning 25-10.
In the third set Converse once again held an early lead at 6-3 over the Bobcats. Then disaster struck for the Valkyries as Lees-McRae used an 8-0 spurt to take an 11-6 lead over Converse. This is only the second time this season the Valkyries have given up an 8-0 run, the last time was against Lynn the top ranked team in the country. Oddly enough, both 8-0 spurts by the opposing team have coming in the third period against the Valkyries.
Trailing 11-6 in the third stanza the Valkyries began to chip away at the Bobcats lead. The Valkyries fought all the way back and tied the set at 17 against Lees-McRae. The Bobcats countered and once again held a 23-19 advantage over Converse. The Valkyries held off a pair of set points but could not complete the comeback as Lees-McRae won the third set 25-22.
Even numbered sets were the Valkyries favorites on Saturday afternoon. Just like the second set, Converse opened the fourth set on a 6-0 run against the Bobcats defense. About midway through the period, Converse held a 9-3 advantage against Lees-McRae. Then the Bobcats started to rally and put pressure on the Valkyries. Leading 13-12 the Valkyries used a 10-6 offensive spurt to hold a 23-18 advantage over Lees-McRae. The Valkyries thwarted the Bobcats late run and captured the fourth set 25-21.
Converse finished with 71 points, 50 kills, 11 aces, 10 blocks, 48 assists and 62 digs in the match. This was the first time since last November (UMO, 11/8/24) that the Valkyries recorded at least 10 blocks in a match and it is the first time since the Fayetteville State game earlier this season that the Valkyries have recorded at least 10 aces in a match.
Ariel Bryant led the team with 13 kills on the afternoon,
Alayah Robertson was second on the team with 10 kills and
Bree Lyons was third on the team with 7 kills. Robertson led the team with 8 blocks and
Ariel Bryant finished second on the team with 6 blocks. This is the first time this season that the Valkyries have had two players finish the match with at least five blocks (last time it happened @Shorter 11/1/24).
Alysha Arroyo picked up her 1,000 career assist this past week and once again led the team with 29 assists on the afternoon. Arroyo also led the team with six service aces in the match, the most by a Valkyrie this season in a single game.
Jayden Johnson finished second on the team with 13 assists in the match.
Noemia Chiacchio led the team with 16 digs,
Lilli Redifer finished second on the team with 11 digs and
Bree Lyons finished third on the team with 10 digs. Both Redifer and Lyons finished tied for second on the team with two service aces each.
Next Up:
The Converse volleyball team will stay on the road this week with a midweek matchup against Augusta on Tuesday evening.
Follow Converse
https://www.facebook.com/ConverseValkyries
Twitter:
@Valkyries_vball
Instagram:
@ValkyriesVball
