ANDERSON, S.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (16-13) locked down the Catawba Indians (15-15) and got 13 kills apiece from Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) and Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) to power a 25-21, 25-22, 25-14 win in the quarterfinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Friday afternoon in Anderson, S.C.
 
Four-seeded Lincoln Memorial advances to the semifinal round to face top-seeded and 10-time defending SAC tournament champion Wingate at 1:30 on Saturday, while Catawba ends its season with a 15-15 overall record.
 
The Lady Railsplitters produced a 46-30 advantage in kills while outhitting the five-seeded Indians .205 to .100.
 
Brock and Fleeman led the charge offensively with a match-high 13 kills apiece. Fleeman, who finished with a .414 attack percentage, added three digs and three blocks to her stat ledger, while Brock hit .281 with six digs and two block assists. Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) contributed seven kills and Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) notched six kills, eight digs and a match-high five block assists to help the Lady Railsplitters accumulate 14 blocks in the contest.  
 
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) - an All-SAC honorable mention selection - was spectacular once again for the Lady Railsplitters, piling up 36 assists, 13 digs and three kills. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) led all players in the match with 16 digs.
 
Back-to-back kills from Brock followed with a kill by Cash jettisoned the Lady Railsplitters out to a 6-3 lead early in set one, but Catawba used three straight kills later in the frame to jump ahead 10-9. The ensuing passage of play saw the two teams jockey back and forth until Lincoln Memorial pulled ahead 17-14 on a Cash service ace and a Catawba attack error. The Indians trimmed the deficit to two points at 20-18 on a Bri Howard kill, but the Lady Railsplitters earned the point in four of the next five rallies via kills to take a commanding 24-19 lead. After two Catawba points, Lincoln Memorial clinched the 25-21 victory with an Indians attack error.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Catawba traded runs early in the second set before racing stride for stride to the finish line. Two kills apiece from Holland and Fleeman along with two Whiteaker service aces fueled an 8-0 run that put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 9-3, but Catawba countered with an 8-1 spurt to take an 11-10 lead on a kill by Rachel Stanford. From that point on, neither team led by more than two points until the Lady Railsplitters established control late. Staring up at a 19-17 deficit following a McKenzie Garrison kill, the Lady Railsplitters ripped off four straight points, capped by a Fleeman kill, to take a 21-19 lead. The Indians fought back and tied the set for the 11th time at 22 all, but kills from Holland, Brock and Oates claimed the 25-22 triumph for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
After meeting in a 4-4 stalemate in the third set, the Lady Railsplitters quickly regained the momentum by rallying off a 7-2 run to take an 11-6 lead on a Rachel Gallup attack error. The Indians won the next point, but the Lady Railsplitters won four of the next five, capped by a Fleeman kill and a Catawba attack error, to build a commanding 15-8 lead. Catawba would close the gap to six points at 18-12, but the Lady Railsplitters would end the match on a 7-2 run to complete the straight-set sweep 25-14.
 
Lincoln Memorial hit .278 with 15 kills in the third set compared to a -.029 attack percentage with seven kills for Catawba.
 
Bri Howard, Erin Morant and Alex Hopper led Catawba with seven kills apiece, while Rachel Stanford had 26 assists and a team-leading 15 digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters' final stat line showed 46 kills, 19 attack errors, a .205 attack percentage, 45 assists and 67 digs, while the Indians finished with 30 kills, 18 attack errors, a .100 hitting percentage, 29 assists and 57 digs. Lincoln Memorial had just one reception error as compared to four for the Indians.
 
Lincoln Memorial will now attempt to end Wingate's 10-year reign of dominance in the South Atlantic Conference Championship, as they square off against the Bulldogs in semifinal round action at 1:30 on Saturday.
 
Quick Hits
The Lady Railsplitters improved to 3-1 all-time against Catawba in the SAC tournament with the victory…Lincoln Memorial and Wingate will be meeting in the postseason for the first time since 2008, when the Bulldogs ended the Lady Railsplitters' run with a 3-1 victory…The Lady Railsplitters are 0-19 all-time against Wingate…Lincoln Memorial is returning to the semifinals of the SAC tournament for the first time since 2012 - coincidentally, they also defeated Catawba in the quarterfinals of that season's event