September 19, 2009

Box Score
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LAURINBURG, N.C.—St. Andrews Presbyterian College freshman setter Kelly Stine (Fort Collins, Colo.) had 22 assists and 11 digs but sophomore outside hitter Megan Epperson (St. John, Ind.) matched her double-double with an impressive 17 kills and 13 digs for Lees-McRae College en route to a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21) Conference Carolinas volleyball victory on Saturday afternoon in Harris Court.

Senior Galina Podolsky (pictured) had seven kills, seven aces, and three blocks against Lees-McRae on Saturday. Podolsky leads the Knights in all three categories.

The Bobcats (8-3 Overall; 4-0 Conf.) remain as one of two conference schools still undefeated in league play with their fourth consecutive win. The Lady Knights (7-6; 2-2) had a two-match win streak snapped.

Lees-McRae posted a .287 hitting percentage in the win while SAPC was held to just a .026 mark.

Stine has three double-doubles in her last four matches.

LMC jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first set and never looked back en route to a nine-point win. St. Andrews answered back winning the closest set of the match. The Bobcats held a slim 23-22 lead in the second frame but the Knights scored the final three points to tie the match at one set apiece.

The pivotal third set was well contested with seven total ties. With the stanza tied at 14-14, the Bobcats slowly clawed away from the Knights with an 11-6 run to take the set by five. St. Andrews attempted to force a decisive fifth set holding a lead in the fourth as late as 20-19 but Lees-McRae won five of the last six plays to end the match with a four-point win in the fourth.

Knights’ sophomore Heather Bolwerk (Appleton, Wis.) had a team-high eight kills while the duo of senior Galina Podolsky (Raleigh, N.C.) and freshman Jessica Himalstein (Fort Myers, Fla.) each had seven put downs.

Podolsky, who led St. Andrews with a .211 hitting percentage, served up a match-high seven aces and had a team-high three blocks.

A trio of Knights reached double figures in digs including seniors Courtney McDonald (Leander, Texas) with 19 scoops and Jaime Hayes (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) with 10 digs.

Epperson totaled 17 kills and three errors on 32 swings for a .438 hitting percentage. Freshman Taylor Clendenin (Statesville, N.C.) followed with nine spikes. Junior Whitney Justice (Connelly Springs, N.C.) and Megan Mitchell (Minden, Nev.) had seven and six kills, respectively, with only one error apiece. Mitchell hit .714 and Justice had .375 hitting accuracy.

Defensively, freshman Luana Rocha (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led the visitors with 16 digs. Mitchell filled up the box score with a match-high 37 assists, six digs, six kills, four block assists, and two aces.

St. Andrews ends a three-game home stand on Tuesday, when the Knights host the Conference Carolinas preseason favorites in Pfeiffer University at 7 p.m.