ST. AUGUSTINE, FL - The Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball team split a pair of games on Day two of the Flager Classic, defeating Lees-McRae 3-1 on Saturday morning before falling to Ashland 3-0 in the night cap. LR finished the weekend 2-2 and now will prepare for their SAC opener on home on Tuesday night against Anderson. 

Kayli Cleaver led the Bears with 22 kills on the day and Brooke Aeschliman had 16. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Game One: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Lees-McRae 1 (25-20, 26-28, 25-15, 25-23)
Final Game Two: Lenoir-Rhyne 0, Ashland 3 (20-25, 22-25, 24-26)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (5-2), Lees-McRae (0-6), Ashland (5-1)
Location: Flagler Gym | St. Augustine, FL

STATS OF THE MATCH GAME ONE:

• With the score tied 15 a piece in the first set, LR went on a 8-1 run to control the set. During the run, Alicia Barbarito had back to back aces to give LR a 23-16 lead, then Hallie Brown ended the set with a kill.
• The Bobcats took the second set 28-26 to even the match at one a piece.
• LR responded with a 25-15 in set three, hitting a match high .282 in the third set.
• The Bears took a 22-14 lead in the fourth set but the Bobcats stormed back and eventually tied the game at 23 before back-to back errors by Lees McRae give the Bears the set and their sixth victory of the year.
• Brooke Aeschliman had a season high ten kills in the victory. 
• Both teams had 16 aces in the game as Emmaleigh Allen and Aeschliman had four while Averie Dale had a team-high five.

STATS OF THE MATCH GAME TWO:

• Bears were held to .041 hitting in the first set as Ashland took the opening set 25-20.
• LR cut the Eagles lead to 23-21 in the second set but Ashland scored the next two points to go up 2-0.
• Ashland needed an extra point to finish the sweep, taking the third set 26-24. 
• Averie Dale and Kayli Cleaver led the Bears with nine kills in the night cap. 
• Bears hit a season low .085 in this contest. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Bears have now won six straight against Lees-McRae.
• Today was the first ever meeting between Lenoir-Rhyne and Ashland.
• The 16 aces in game one were the most aces in a 4-set match in program history. 
• Averie Dale came into the day leading the SAC in hitting % (.462) and Service Aces per set (.71)

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will return to the Shu and open SAC play when Anderson comes to town on Tuesday evening for Mental Health Awareness Night. The Trojans are currently 3-3 and fell 3-1 to Palm Beach Atlantic earlier today. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Hickory.