Lees-McRae Advances to Quarterfinals of 2023 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship
Bracket | Tournament Homepage | Final Site Live Video | Final Site Tickets | Final Site Live Stats
BANNER ELK, N.C. - Sixth-seeded Lees-McRae advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship with a sweep of seventh-seeded Converse on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023.
With the second-round win, Lees-McRae will next battle third-seeded Emmanuel in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 17 in North Charleston, South Carolina. First serve in the match is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
Lees-McRae (15-10) faced off against Converse after the Valkyries had opened the tournament with a sweep of 12th-seeded Belmont Abbey. The Northwest division-champion Bobcats started its win over Converse with a 26-24 win in the first set. They then collected a 25-17 win in the second set. The Bobcats concluded the sweep with a hard-fought, 27-25, victory in the third game. Sydney Stigler just missed on a double-double in the match with 20 kills and nine digs. Madison Goins paced the Lees-McRae attack with 31 assists. She also had two service aces. Evelyn Fitz posted 14 kills to lead Converse (10-20) in its season-ending loss.
In the first round matchup between Converse and Belmont Abbey, the Valkyries started things off with a 25-21 win in game one and then followed that up with a 25-22 victory in the second set. Converse looked to be easily headed to a sweep with a 12-4 lead in the third set, but Belmont Abbey battled back to tie things up at 24-24 and make things hard on the Valkyries. The two teams would go back and forth over the extra points with the third game tied at 31-all. An attacking error and then a service ace garnered the Valkyries the points they needed to earn a thrilling 33-31 win in the third set. It was a very balanced attack for Converse in the sweep with no player reaching double-digit kills. Mackenzie Day led the Valkyries with 15 digs. Fitz just missed on the double-digit kills with nine. She also had three aces. Jenna McCullough had 14 kills for Belmont Abbey (5-20) in its season-ending loss.
The 2023 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship continues on Sunday, Nov. 12. UNC Pembroke (18-13), the East division champions, earned the No. 4 seed and will host No. 9 Chowan (6-21) and No. 10 King (10-16) on Sunday. The Hawks and Tornado will play at 12 p.m. with the winner to face the Braves at 3 p.m. Francis Marion (15-15) claimed the fifth seed and will host No. 8 Young Harris (10-16) and No. 11 Barton (9-17) on Sunday. The Mountain Lions and Bulldogs will square off at 1 p.m. with the winner to face the Patriots at 3:30 p.m. The winners of the UNC Pembroke and Francis Marion sites will square off in the first quarterfinal in North Charleston on Friday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m.
2023 Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Championship
First Round – Saturday, November 11 & Sunday, November 12 (Nos. 4, 5 & 6 Host)
#7 Converse 3, #12 Belmont Abbey 0 (
Box Score)
#8 Young Harris vs. #11 Barton at Francis Marion, Nov. 12 at 1:00 p.m.
#9 Chowan vs. #10 King at UNC Pembroke, Nov. 12 at 12 p.m.
Second Round - Saturday, November 11 & Sunday, November 12 (Higher Seed Hosts)
Winner of #9-#10 at #4 UNC Pembroke, 3:00 p.m.
Winner of #8-#11 at #5 Francis Marion, 3:30 p.m.
#6 Lees-McRae 3, #7 Converse 0 (
Box Score)
Quarterfinals – Friday, November 17 (North Charleston Athletic Center, North Charleston, S.C.)
Winner of #5-#8-#11 vs. Winner of #4-#9-#10, 5:00 p.m.
#6 Lees-McRae vs. #3 Emmanuel, 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, November 18 (North Charleston Athletic Center, North Charleston, S.C.)
Winner of #4-#5-#8-#9-#10-#11 vs. #1 Mount Olive, 5:00 p.m.
Winner of #3-#6-#7-#12 vs. #2 North Greenville, 7:30 p.m.
Final – Sunday, November 19 (North Charleston Athletic Center, North Charleston, S.C.)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2, 3 p.m.