EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A balanced offensive attack - keyed by freshman outside hitter
Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) and graduate middle blocker
MaRanda Boddie (Springfield, Ohio) - carried the Lady Railsplitters (1-3) to a gritty four-set triumph over West Alabama (0-4) in the final match of the Dunn Hospitality Classic in Evansville, Ind. early Saturday evening. Lincoln Memorial nabbed its first victory of the 2014 campaign with set scores of 26-24, 23-25, 26-24 and 25-23.
The Lady Railsplitters topped its former Gulf South Conference foe for the first time since the 2005 season, snapping a slim streak of three-consecutive, straight-set wins for the Tigers. The two teams last met in 2009 with West Alabama posting a 3-0 win in Banner Elk, N.C. The Lady Railsplitters evened up the all-time series at 15-15 with the win.
Kiera Holland followed up her 18-kill effort against North Alabama from earlier in the afternoon by posting 16 kills on 49 attempts, the most by a Lady Railsplitter since
Kaitlin Walton took 55 swings on October 4, 2013. Holland added seven digs and three block assists to her stat ledger. Former LMU women's basketball standout,
MaRanda Boddie posted a season-high 11 kills on a .333 attack percentage, chipping in a team-high four block assists. Right sides
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) and
Allison Beavers (Tomball, Texas) added to the effort with nine and eight kills, respectively. Beavers was also effective on the serve with three aces.
Junior preseason All-SAC selection
Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) led the defense with 21 digs, while
Kendra Gephart (Morrow, Ohio) posted 14 and
Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) accumulated eight scoops. Sophomore setter
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) logged without question her most efficient match of the young season, tallying 41 assists and nine digs.
An LMU attacking blunder knotted the first frame at 6-6 early, but the Lady Railsplitters rattled off a 7-1 run, highlighted by three-straight kills from Cash and Holland, to assume a 13-7 lead. The Tigers slowly chipped away at LMU's advantage, cutting it back to 22-21 on another ill-timed Lady Railsplitter miscue. Lincoln Memorial kept UWA at bay, assuming a 24-22 lead following a Tiger attacking error. But West Alabama fought back to tie the set at 25-25. Fortunately, the Lady Railsplitters were the beneficiaries of two more West Alabama missteps, taking the first set by a score of 26-24.
In the first set alone, the Lady Railsplitters and Tigers combined for 18 attack errors and five service miscues.
The tightly contested second set featured nine ties and four lead changes. With the frame squared at 16 apiece, the Lady Railsplitters jumped out to a 19-16 advantage on back-to-back-to-back
Allison Beavers service aces. LMU extended its cushion to 22-18 before UWA ripped off a 5-0 run, aided by three-consecutive Lincoln Memorial attack errors, to take a 23-22 lead. Holland squared the set briefly with a kill, but Jessica Voyles and Elizabeth Culhane scored successive kills to knot the match.
The Lady Railsplitters found themselves locked in another closely fought turn in set three. Wedged in a 10-10 stalemate, Lincoln Memorial used a 4-1 run to grab a 15-11 lead, eventually pressing the lead to 20-16 on a Voyles attack error. The Tigers cut the deficit to within one on four occasions down the stretch before breaking through to tie the set at 24-24 on a kill by Briana Sandifer. The Lady Railsplitters only needed two more rallies to claim the victory, though, as a ball handling error and a
Bristol Snider ace sparked another 26-24 triumph.
Like the three previous sets, the Lady Railsplitters and Tigers went point for point in the fourth frame. A kill by
Allison Beavers tied the set at 20-20, just before a pair of West Alabama errors propped LMU to a 22-20 advantage. UWA worked back to square the set at 23-23, but Holland and Fleeman registered kills in back-to-back rallies to end the match.
The Lady Railsplitters were successively more efficient as the match wore on, hitting .070 in set one, .108 in set two, .140 in set three and .217 in the fourth and final frame. Not surprisingly, the Lady Railsplitters also increased its kill total in each frame with 11, 12, 13 and 17.
Jessica Voyles and Elizabeth Culhane paced the Tigers with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while Sam Burgess posted 37 assists. Lindsey Ball fronted the defensive back line with 19 scoops.
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Friday, September 12, kicking off the Pioneer Volleyball Classic against Lander in Greeneville, Tenn. First serve in that regional tilt versus the Bearcats is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
