HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (14-13, 11-10 SAC) celebrated Senior Night in style with a gripping 25-13, 22-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-7 come-from-behind victory over arch-rival Tusculum (11-17, 8-14 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in the Mary Mars Gymnasium finale on Tuesday night.
 
The win moved Lincoln Memorial into a two-way tie for fifth in the SAC standings and avenged an ugly 3-0 loss to the Pioneers from back on October 20 while Tusculum dropped its sixth consecutive match to end its season.
 
"We had every opportunity to roll over. Tusculum had a lot of momentum," LMU head volleyball coach Jenny Michael said after the match. "We started out the second set making way too many unforced errors, but all the credit in the world goes to Tusculum, because they went out there and earned it in that third set. We were a little down as far as energy and momentum, but we made the commitment and made some defensive plays that were outstanding, especially from people that don't typically make defensive plays. And that really got the ball rolling. When we start making plays at the net and in the backcourt we are a tough team to beat."
 
Four different players registered double-digit kills in the match for the Lady Railsplitters. Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) led the way with 17 kills on a .433 attack percentage while Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) amassed 13 kills on a .324 hitting percentage to go along with eight total blocks (2 solo, 6 assists). Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) tallied 11 kills and 11 digs, and Danielle Ged (Smyrna, Tenn.) provided her typical efficiency with 12 kills on a .375 attack percentage. Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) chipped in nine kills, nine digs and five block assists.
 
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) matched her season-high mark with 54 assists and paired that with 19 digs, two block assists and a solo block. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with 24 digs while Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) chipped in 11 scoops.
 
"I thought both of our middles did a great job of scoring, and that's a credit to Abby and her ability to distribute the ball," Michael said. "But our seniors played like seniors tonight when given the opportunity from start to finish and we're definitely going to miss them."
 
Lincoln Memorial recognized its three seniors, Mense, Oates and Allison McKinnon (Missouri City, Texas), prior to the start of Tuesday's match, which will be the final appearance for those three individuals that represent Michael's first true recruiting class at Mary Mars Gym.
 
The Lady Railsplitters accounted for 66 kills on a .238 attack percentage, but they fought back to win the match behind a stingy defense that limited Tusculum to 56 kills on a .158 clip, including a -.150 mark in the fifth frame. Lincoln Memorial eclipsed 20 blocks for the fourth time this season, recording 20 block assists and three solo blocks. The Lady Railsplitters also finished with an 88-77 advantage in digs.
 
The home team asserted control early in the first set, using two kills apiece from Holland and Ged to race out to a 9-2 lead. Tusculum whittled their way back into the set and trimmed the deficit to 16-12 on a kill by Rachel Garnett, but the Lady Railsplitters concluded the set on a 9-1 run to win it 25-13. Whiteaker's serve completely befuddled the Pioneers during that stretch, as she recorded three of her match-high five service aces to fuel the closing run.
 
The Lady Railsplitters trailed 12-10 in set two following another kill from Garnett. But Lincoln Memorial owned the next passage of play to the tune of a 7-3 run, taking a 17-15 lead on a kill by Oates. The Pioneers answered with a 6-0 spurt paced by three kills from Sabrina Schleuger to take a 21-17 lead. A kill by Holland helped Lincoln Memorial close the gap to 22-20 late in the set, but Tusculum held on for a match-tying 25-22 victory.
 
The Pioneers hit their stride offensively in the third set, logging 19 kills on a ridiculous .529 attack percentage. The Lady Railsplitters kept pace early in the frame, using kills from Fleeman and Brock to tie the set at 11 points apiece. However, Tusculum would record 10 of their 19 kills in the set over the final 18 rallies to pace a 14-4 closing run, grabbing a 2-1 advantage with a 25-15 victory.
 
Tusculum jumped out to a 6-2 lead early in the fourth set, but Oates injected the Lady Railsplitters with some life by powering four kills over a 9-2 run that pushed Lincoln Memorial in front 11-8. The two teams traded punches after that, though, as Tusculum fought back to take a 14-13 lead on an LMU attack error. The set featured six ties after that until the Lady Railsplitters used back-to-back Tusculum attack errors and a kill by Fleeman to take the lead for good at 22-19. The Pioneers cut the deficit to 23-21 before kills by Fleeman and Oates forced a fifth set.
 
The Lady Railsplitters only trailed momentarily in the fifth frame, as Tusculum held a 3-2 lead early. But Lincoln Memorial erased that deficit and essentially sealed the match with a 7-1 run. The Pioneers never got any closer than four points for the remained of the set, as the Lady Railsplitters capped off the thrilling five-set victory with back-to-back blocks and a 15-7 triumph.
 
Schleuger paced the Pioneers and led all players with a season-high 23 kills on a .327 attack percentage while Garnett contributed 12 kills. Laryssa Welch was the only other player for Tusculum with more than two kills, producing nine. Hannah Berling notched 43 assists and seven digs while Melissa Mazur led all players with 29 digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters close out the regular season on Friday, November 13 when they head to Mars Hill, N.C. for a 7 p.m. first serve against the Mars Hill Lions.