GREENWOOD, S.C. -- The Lincoln Memorial volleyball team (8-7) split a pair of regional matches - defeating Francis Marion in straight sets and falling to Lander in four frames - on the first day of the Peach Belt/South Atlantic Conference Challenge on Friday in Greenwood, S.C.
 
The Lady Railsplitters steamrolled Francis Marion - Coach Jenny Michael's alma mater - by set scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 28-26 in the afternoon match before dropping the last three sets to Lander by scores of 25-17, 23-25, 11-25 and 22-25 during the early evening slate.
 
The Lady Railsplitters complete the PBC/SAC crossover and wrap up the nonconference schedule on Saturday when they try to avenge a season-opening loss to the USC Aiken Pacers at 2 p.m. in Aiken, S.C.
 
Lincoln Memorial 3, Francis Marion 0 (25-19, 25-17, 28-26)
 
The Lady Railsplitters didn't put up flashy numbers offensively, attacking at a .139 clip with 35 kills and 19 errors, but Lincoln Memorial did dominate the match defensively, holding the Patriots to an .031 attack percentage and forcing 28 hitting errors. It was the second straight match in which LMU has held its opponent below a .100 attacking clip while also committing less than 20 errors themselves.
 
Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with 10 kills to go along with 10 digs, two solo blocks and four assists. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) and Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) added eight kills apiece, while Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) had five kills on just eight attempts, 20 assists, 11 digs and three block assists. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) and Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led LMU with 20 and 14 digs respectively.
 
The Lady Railsplitters absolutely sizzled in the opening set, racking up 17 kills on a .414 attack percentage to fuel a 25-19 win. Back-to-back kills from Brock put Lincoln Memorial in front 7-4, while kills from Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) and Brock capped a 4-0 run that extended the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 11-6. A Holland kill later in the set made it 20-13 in favor of LMU before the Patriots fought back and cut the deficit to 22-19 on a Caroline Boone kill. The Lad Railsplitters ended the set on a 3-0 run though to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
That momentum carried into the second stanza as the Lady Railsplitters won 11 of the first 14 rallies to assume a commanding 11-3 advantage. After regaining sideout on a kill from Alexzandra Reed, Francis Marion rode a long service run from Georgia Garrison on an 8-0 rally to knot the set at 11 apiece. The two teams traded points before Lincoln Memorial ripped off a 7-0 spurt, paced by kills from Brock, Holland and Fleeman, to take a 19-12 lead. The Patriots would never close the gap to less than five points the rest of the way as back-to-back attack errors helped LMU win the set 25-17.
 
The Lady Railsplitters held sway early in the third set, jumping in front 11-10 on a FMU attack error. But the Patriots erased that deficit and built a five-point lead (16-11) with a 6-0 flurry. Lincoln Memorial trailed for the ensuing passage of play, but steadily picked away at the deficit, trimming the Patriots lead to 22-20 with a kill by Allison McKinnon (Missouri City, Texas) and a Francis Marion attack error. The Patriots won the next two points to force set point at 24-20, though. However, three straight miscues by the Patriots, followed by a McKinnon ace knotted the set at 24-24. The Lady Railsplitters would face set point twice more until two attack errors and a kill by Holland clinched the match with a 28-26 victory.
 
The Lady Railsplitters improved to 2-1 all-time against Francis Marion in the first match-up between the two programs since 2012.
 
Caroline Boone and Carlie Smith led the Patriots with nine kills apiece. Carrie McGinnis had 17 assists and six digs. Smith and Shelbi Meek paced Francis Marion with 14 digs apiece.
 
Lander 3, Lincoln Memorial 1 (25-17, 23-25, 11-25, 22-25)
 
Errors ultimately cost the Lady Railsplitters an opportunity to steal an important regional victory on the Bearcats' home court as they committed a season-high 32 attack errors while combining for 14 service, reception and ball-handling errors.
 
Lincoln Memorial had a 51-43 advantage in kills, but Lander amassed 20 block assists and two solo blocks to limit them to a .103 attack percentage. The 32 miscues were the most for the program since September 12 of last season when they faltered 33 times in a win over Belmont Abbey. That ended a string of four straight matches with less than 20 attack errors for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Brock and Holland accumulated 11 kills apiece, but that pair combined for 18 errors. Holland was also among the team leaders with 14 digs. Oates had nine kills, four digs and three block assists, while Fleeman produced eight kills and 10 digs. Cash had 20 assists and 10 digs until an arm injury forced her out of the match following the second set. Snider filled that vacancy, producing 20 assists and 11 digs. Whiteaker had a match-high 26 digs, while Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) collected 17 scoops.
 
The Lady Railsplitters fell into a 12-8 hole in the opening set before spinning off a 6-0 run, fueled by two kills from Fleeman and another from Brock, to take a 14-12 lead. Lincoln Memorial maintained a slim advantage over the next passage until using a quick 4-0 spurt to make it 21-15. A kill from Oates followed by a Lander error ended the Lady Railsplitters' 25-17 victory.
 
The Bearcats jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in set two, but two kills from Holland and two Bearcat errors put the Lady Railsplitters in front 8-5. The momentum swung back into the Bearcats' corner over the next stretch, as they won 10 of the 14 rallies over the middle passage to take a 15-12 lead. Later in the set, a kill by Brock evened the frame at 18 apiece, but four of the next five points went to Lander. A kill by Brock followed by two Danielle Ged (Smyrna, Tenn.) kills tied it back up at 22-22, and the set would be tied once more until an LMU attack error and kill by Kaitlyn Harrison gave Lander the 25-23 victory.
 
The Lady Railsplitters won the first point in the third set but wouldn't lead again the rest of the way. Lincoln Memorial fell into a 10-4 hole before rallying to trim the deficit to 12-10 on a Ged kill. LMU won just one point over the remainder of the set though, as the Bearcats ripped off a 13-1 closing run to take a 25-11 win.
 
The visiting unit opened with a 6-3 lead early in the fourth set, but a 4-0 Lander run forced the Lady Railsplitters to play catch up the rest of the set. Trailing 14-11, the Lady Railsplitters used two kills by Brock to pace a 5-1 flurry and take a 16-15 lead. Lincoln Memorial led briefly as an attack error put the Bearcats back in front 18-17. The set was tied twice down the closing stretch, and the Lady Railsplitters pulled within one on three separate occasions, but a kill by Kendall Korte and a bad set ended the match in Lander's favor with a 25-22 set win.
 
Tarryn Angermeier and Kendall Korte led Lander with 11 kills apiece, while Halle Dotson produced 10 kills. Sophia Perkins accounted for 32 assists and six digs. Julia Ferreira-Alves was one of four Bearcats with double-digit digs, leading the way with 24.
 
With the loss, LMU and Lander are now tied at 5-5 in the all-time series, as the Lady Railsplitters fell to the Bearcats for the third straight time since 2013.