HICKORY, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (9-9, 6-6 SAC) built a two sets to one lead but couldn't hold on in a five-set loss to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (11-6, 10-3 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Saturday evening in Hickory, N.C. Lincoln Memorial saw its four-match SAC winning streak end by set scores of 13-25, 25-20, 25-19, 19-25 and 8-15.
 
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) led the Lady Railsplitters with 13 kills on a .278 attack percentage. Danielle Ged (Smyrna, Tenn.) and Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) had nine kills apiece, while Brock added eight digs and two assists. Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) produced eight kills but also committed 10 attack errors for a -.080 attack percentage. Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) contributed six kills and tied LMU's single-match record with five solo blocks, becoming the first Lady Railsplitter to accomplish that feat since Blaire Fowler did it in 2011.
 
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) compiled 42 assists and 10 digs, while Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) led the Lady Railsplitters with 20 scoops. Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) had four kills and 14 digs, as she now sits just eight digs away from breaking Lincoln Memorial's career record for digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished with 51 kills, 29 errors and a .127 attack percentage. Lenoir-Rhyne had 65 kills, 22 errors and a .242 attacking clip. The Bears narrowly out-dug Lincoln Memorial 76-71.
 
The two teams' respective offensive attack proved to be the big difference in set one, as Lenoir-Rhyne produced 14 kills on a .344 attack percentage while Lincoln Memorial had nine kills and six errors for a .091 clip. One of just three L-R attack errors trimmed the Lady Railsplitters' deficit to 7-5, but the Bears proceeded to go on a 10-1 run, fueled by two Morgan Bunker kills, to build a 17-6 lead. The Lady Railsplitters took the point in three of the next four rallies, and later pulled to within nine points at 19-10 on a kill by Fleeman, but a 5-1 spurt by the Bears made it 24-11. Bunker later ended the set with a kill.
 
The Lady Railsplitters reversed their fortunes in set two, accounting for 15 of their 25 points on kills with a .227 attack percentage. Back-to-back kills from Brock gave Lincoln Memorial a 7-4 lead early in the set, but Lenoir-Rhyne used a 4-1 flurry to draw the set back even at 8-8. After trading points in the next two rallies, the Lady Railsplitters went on a 5-1 run, aided by three Bear miscues, to take a 14-10 lead. An L-R ball-handling and attack error later increased the Lady Railsplitters' cushion to 20-14. A late Lenoir-Rhyne run cut the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 23-20 and prompted head coach Jenny Michael to burn a timeout. The Lady Railsplitters responded immediately after the timeout though, finishing off the 25-20 victory with a Fleeman kill and an L-R attack error.
 
In a set that was defined by runs, the Lady Railsplitters were on the winning end of what proved to be the most important run of the frame. The Bears won the first four points of the set before Lincoln Memorial used a 7-2 run, capped by an Oates kill, to take a 7-6 lead. Kills by Mense, Cash and Brock fueled a 5-0 run later in the set that increased the Lady Railsplitters' advantage to 12-7. The Bears then made a run, winning eight of the next 11 rallies to square the set at 15 apiece. That is precisely where the momentum shifted irrevocably as the Lady Railsplitters went on a 6-0 run with three kills to make it 21-15. A Brooke Redmond service error later clinched LMU's 25-19 triumph.
 
The roles were reversed once again in the fourth set as a late Lenoir-Rhyne run forced a fifth set. An Emma Pope service ace gave the Bears a commanding 9-4 lead early in the frame, but the Lady Railsplitters used a 6-1 run culminated by a Cash kill to tie it at 10-10. Lincoln Memorial then took the lead at 12-11 with a quick 3-1 spurt. Two straight points kept the Lady Railsplitters in front 15-14 before the Bears spun off a 9-1 run, capped by Bunker's kill, to take a 23-16 lead. LMU cut it back to 24-19 before a service error ended the set in Lenoir-Rhyne's favor, 25-19.
 
The momentum stayed in Lenoir-Rhyne's corner in the fifth set as two kills by Redmond, two from Ashley Wells and a service ace helped the Bears open the decisive frame with a 7-1 lead. The Lady Railsplitters fought back and closed the gap to 10-7 following kills from Brock and Holland, but L-R won five of the next six rallies to complete the come-from-behind victory with a 15-8 win. The Lady Railsplitters hit -.042 in the set, putting up five kills with six errors. The Bears had seven kills without an error.
 
Four players combined for all but six of the Bears' 62 kills. Ashley Wells and Brooke Redmond led all players with 15 kills apiece, while Morgan Bunker had 14 and Brandi Thomas contributed 12. Brianna Gottberg had 32 assists and 16 digs, while Serina Nickle produced 20 assists. Bailey Cloninger paced the Bears with 18 digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Greeneville, Tenn. to take on the Tusculum Pioneers in a match set to get underway at 7 p.m.
 
Match Notes
The Lady Railsplitters lost to Lenoir-Rhyne for the sixth straight time since their last win over the Bears on November 11, 2012 - this was the third five-set match over that span, all of which LMU has held a 2-1 lead...Oates is just the fourth player in program history with five solo blocks in a match...Whiteaker had 20-plus digs in a match for the sixth time this season and third time in her last five appearances...Fleeman recorded 13 kills for the second straight match