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The most outstanding players from Lees-McRae during this decade are earning a college men’s volleyball honor.
Off the Block announced on Thursday the seven players selected to the Lees-McRae All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block.
The All-Decade Starting Lineup recognizes the best players to compete with a team since 2010. Similar to the starting lineup for a match, the All-Decade honor is comprised of a setter, opposite and libero along with two outside attackers and middle attackers.
The Off the Block staff determined the All-Decade Starting Lineup using a variety of factors including career statistical performance and the team’s overall success when a player was a member of the program.
This is also part of a series from Off the Block to celebrate the end of the decade in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block throughout the rest of 2019 will release an All-Decade Starting Lineup for every NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
Lees-McRae closed out the decade with three winning seasons. The Bobcats also advanced to the ConfCarolinas Tournament semifinals three times since 2010, including reaching the 2010 conference tournament finals.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that was established in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball.
Lees-McRae All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block
Setter: Randy Ramirez
Opposite: Chad Mercado
Outside attacker: Brady Markle
Outside attacker: John Sobel
Middle attacker: Matt Harpenau
Middle attacker: Joshua Jones
Libero: Efrain Negron
Matt Harpenau (2011-14)
Awards and honors: 2012 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2013 ConfCarolinas Player of the Week; 2014 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Harpenau holds the school record with 277 career blocks. The middle attacker finished with at least 60 blocks in all four seasons, including being sixth in the ConfCarolinas with a 0.93 blocks per game average as a junior in 2013. Harpenau that season also posted a career-best .330 attack percentage — the second consecutive year that he hit more than .300. In his final season Harpenau transitioned to a pin-hitter and finished in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.67 kills per game average and earned all-conference honors for the second time in his career.
Joshua Jones (2012-13)
Awards and honors: 2012 ConfCarolinas Freshman of the Year; 2013 ConfCarolinas Player of the Week; 2013 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2013 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team
Jones in the last of his two seasons with the Bobcats was in the nation’s top 20 with both a 1.06 blocks per game average and a career-best .335 attack percentage. He also set the program’s single-season record with 102 blocks as a sophomore. The all-conference selection that season also had double-digit kills and hit more than .400 in four conference matches as he helped lead Lees-McRae to the ConfCarolinas Tournament semifinals. In addition, Jones earned the 2012 ConfCarolinas Freshman of the Year after finishing the season in the nation’s top 20 with a 1.07 blocks per game average.
Brady Markle (2013-15)
Awards and honors: 2014 First-Team Al-ConfCarolinas; 2015 ConfCarolinas Player of the Year; 2015 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2015 All-American Honorable Mention; 2015 ConfCarolinas Player of the Week
Markle remains the only player in Lees-McRae program history to win the ConfCarolinas Player of the Year. The outside attacker earned the top conference honor in 2015 after finishing with a nation-best 5.23 kills per game average. He also had at least 20 kills in 10 matches that season, including a career-high 38 kills on a .526 attack percentage in a victory against North Greenville. Along with his performance during his final college season, Markle in 2014 finished in the nation’s top 10 with a 3.92 kills per game average and earned all-conference honors.
Chad Mercado (2008-11)
Awards and honors this decade: 2010 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2011 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2011 National Player of the Week; 2011 ConfCarolinas Player of the Week
Mercado in his senior season was second in the nation with a 4.69 kills per game average and had a career-high .309 attack percentage as he finished his college career with more than 1,000 kills.The two-time all-conference opposite averaged 5.00 kills per game during his junior year and led the Bobcats to the 2010 ConfCarolinas Tournament finals. Mercado in that championship loss had a match-high 32 kills — one of 20 matches in his career with at least 20 kills. Also among those matches includes Mercado having a match-high 24 kills as Lees-McRea beat Ball State in 2011 for one of its biggest upsets in program history
Efrain Negron (2011-14)
Awards and honors: 2012 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2013 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2014 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Negron set and still holds the program record with both 773 career digs and a 2.40 career digs per game average. The three-time all-conference libero averaged at least 2.25 digs per game in all three seasons as the team’s starter, including being the nation’s top five with a career-best 2.58 digs per game average in 2012. In addition, Negron in each of his final two seasons had double-digit digs in 10 matches.
Randy Ramirez (2011-14)
Awards and honors: 2012 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas; 2013 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Ramirez concluded his college career setting the program record with 3,347 assists. He also was in the nation’s top 20 in back-to-back seasons for assists per game average, including having a career-best 10.11 average in 2012. In addition, the two-time all-conference setter had a career-best 35 aces in his senior season to finish with the program career record at 95 aces.
John Sobel (2014-17)
Awards and honors: 2017 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Sobel had at least 200 kills in three consecutive seasons and had a national top-25 finish with a 3.51 kills per game average 2016. In his senior season, Sobel finished among the national leaders and in the ConfCarolinas top 10 averaging 3.00 kills per game as he earned all-conference honors. The outside attacker that season also led the Bobcats to their first postseason appearance in three years.