BELMONT, N.C. -- Belmont Abbey hit .342 as a team, led by Zach Puentes' 10 kills, to clinch at least a share of the Conference Carolinas regular-season title with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-22) victory over Lees-McRae Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Crusaders improve to 16-4 overall and 11-1 in league play. The Bobcats fall to 1-25, 0-12.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Matthew Staskunas registered eight kills and only one error for a .412 hitting percentage, while Ethan Rehmann quietly hit .750 with seven kills and an error in eight chances.
• Garrett Hockman added a career-high six kills (against one error). He also added a pair of blocks.
• Staskunas, Rhemann and Puentes combined for six of the Crusaders' nine aces.
• Joseph Morris, dished out 29 assists and had a team-high tying eight digs. He also led the team in blocks with three.
• Alejandro Leon also tallied eight digs.
• The 16 wins are the second-most in program history, trailing only the 2016 team, which had 18.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey will look for the outright title on Saturday against King.
• The Crusaders need a win or North Greenville loss win the league for the first time.
• The match starts at 2 p.m. in the Wheeler Center.