Mississippi Christian lost to Lee 3-0 Thursday at Paul Dana Walker Arena in Cleveland, Tennessee. The Choctaws had 34 kills and hit .087, compared with 45 kills and a .271 hitting percentage for Lee.
Mississippi Christian stayed close through much of the first set, but Lee pulled away with four consecutive points to take a 17-12 lead. The Choctaws got within 22-18 before Lee scored the final three points for a 25-18 win.
The second set offered Mississippi Christian its closest finish. The Choctaws cut Lee’s lead to 15-14 after a Meg Paparella kill, a Lee attack error and a Paparella ace. They later narrowed the gap to 19-18, but Lee answered with three straight points and went on to win 25-21.
In the third set, Mississippi Christian trimmed a 10-5 deficit to 10-8 on a Rhaia Davey kill, a Paparella ace and a Reese Regner kill. Lee restored its advantage, and the Choctaws could not close the gap despite late kills from Paparella and Emma Levingston. Lee won the set 25-17.
Regner led the Choctaws with 22 assists and 13 digs. Paparella and Davey each had eight kills; Paparella added two aces and seven digs, while Davey hit .353 and had a block assist. Samarin Kipple collected 12 digs and three assists.
Mississippi Christian entered the match with an 11-18 overall record and an 8-9 mark in Gulf South Conference play. Lee was 15-10 overall and 10-7 in the conference.
