SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse College (4-21, 1-13 CC) team fell 3-0 to Lees McRae (5-17, 3-10) on Saturday afternoon inside Hannah Gymnasium. The Bobcats were able to earn the sweep with set wins of 25-23, 25-18, and 25-19.
Journee English led the Valkyries with nine kills, while Jordan Mrkvicka added five kills to go along with her 11 digs and five assists. Sydney Allen finished with 18 digs. The Vals ended the contest with nine service aces and seven blocks.
Converse opened up a 14-10 advantage in set one, but an 11-4 run by the Bobcats gave LMC the lead at 21-18. That three-point lead continued to the score of 24-21 before Converse collected two in a row to trim the deficit to a single point (24-23). However, a kill that fell off the fingertips of a Valkyries defender gave LMC a 1-0 match lead with a set one final of 25-23.
After a service ace by Lauren Tharrington gave the Valkyries a 7-6 lead Lees-McRae reeled off a 13-5 run to take a commanding 19-12 advantage late in frame two. It was a seven-point lead the Bobcats did not relinquish, cruising to a 25-18 set win.
Once again Converse came out strong during the onset of frame three, racing out to a 9-7 lead, but LMC used another big run, this time six straight, to take a 13-9 mark. Converse came right back with three straight of its own to cut the deficit to 13-12, but the Bobcats quickly extended that lead with an 8-3 burst. From that point it was all academic as LMC closed out the set 25-19 and the match, 3-0.
This wraps up the home portion of the 2017 schedule and the Valkyries will compete one last time on November 3 as they travel just up Interstate 85 to Belmont, N.C. to take on the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey College.
Prior to this afternoon's game head coach Amy Bomar and the rest of the Converse volleyball team paid tribute to Journee English, Deanna Unger, and Krislyn Moore for their contributions to Valkyries volleyball during their time on campus.