ANDERSON, S.C. - The number one seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball team cruised to a sweep of No. 8 Francis Marion in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Anderson. Taylor Prall led the way with 13 kills and 17 digs for the Bears, who win their first NCAA Tournament match since 2015.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Francis Marion 0
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (23-7), Franics Marion (21-11)
Location: Anderson, S.C. | Abney Athletic Center
 
STATS OF THE MATCH:

• Francis Marion scored the first three points of the match before an Ashley Hawkins kill got LR on the board.
• The Bears then ripped off the next six points, including an ace from Hawkins, a block by Emma Clark and a kill from Taylor Prall.
• Each team had a mini spurt in the middle of the first set, and a tip kill from Alannah Thomas pushed the score to 19-17 in favor of the Bears, leading to a Francis Marion timeout.
• A kill by Braelyn Faust and then an ace by her moved the score to 22-18 LR, and Francis Marion called another timeout.
• Prall ended the first set with a kill at the antenna, and LR won the first set 25-20.
• Prall and Colette Romp each had three kills in the opening set, and the Bears hit .312 as a team.
• Back-to-back kills for Romp, an ace for Hawkins, and a tip kill for Mackenzie Hulsey gave the Bears a 5-1 lead to start the second set.
• The Bears pulled out to a 9-4 lead in the early second set, forcing another Patriot timeout. The Bear defense was holding Francis Marion to a .089 total hitting percentage at this point.
• A block by Emma Clark made the score 16-9 LR in the second set, and the Patriots called another timeout.
• The Bears outscored the Patriots 9-4 after the timeout, and Prall ended the second set again with a kill. LR won the set 25-13.
• The Bears hit. 448 as a team in the second set while holding Francis Marion to a .061 percentage.
• After a 7-3 start to the third set in favor of Francis Marion, the Bears went on a three-point run, capped off by a block from Clark.
• Two attack errors in a row by Francis Marion led to another Patriot timeout with Lenoir-Rhyne leading 15-12 in the third set.
• The Bears kept a comfortable lead the rest of the third set, highlighted by a couple more big blocks from Clark.
• A combo block from Clark and Romp ended it. LR won the third set 25-16 to win the match 3-0.
• The Bears hit .398 as a team in the match while holding Francis Marion to a .119 percentage.
• Prall had a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs. Romp also had double digit kills with 11.
• Mackenzie Hulsey had 36 assists, which breaks the school record of 35 in an NCAA Tournament game set by Brianna Gottberg back in 2012 against Wingate. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• This was the first NCAA Tournament match for everyone on the Bear roster. Today was the seventh all-time NCAA Tournament match for LR, and the Bears now hold a 3-4 all-time tournament record.
• The win was the first in the tournament for Lenoir-Rhyne since their last appearance in the tournament in 2015, when they defeated Lander to advance to the regional final.
• The Bears have played 21 of their 30 matches away from home this season. LR is now 14-7 away from Shuford Gymnasium. 

UP NEXT: The Bears will play Wingate in the Regional Semifinal match tomorrow (12/3) at 5 p.m.