BANNER ELK, N.C. — The
Benedict College men's volleyball team opened the 2026 season on Saturday, dropping a 3-1 decision to Lees-McRae College.
Lees-McRae (3-6 overall) won the match 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-12.
The Bobcats hit .448 in the first set, recording 15 kills. The Tigers tied the match by taking the second set as they pulled away by scoring three of the final five points in the set.
Camron Petillo scored a kill for the set winner.
Lees-McRae jumped out to an early 13-6 lead in the third set. Benedict got within 20-17, but the Bobcats scored the next three points, all on Benedict errors, and went on for the 25-20 victory. Lees-McRae had a 7-6 lead in the fourth set, but the Bobcats scored 13 of the next 16 points for a 20-9 lead and went on to claim the match.
Petillo led the Tigers with 11 kills.
Mallik Foreman added eight kills and had a team-high nine digs.
Kaden Hoyte had 20 assists.
Benedict (0-1 overall) returns to action on Thursday, taking on Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. at 6 p.m.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.