ANDERSON, S.C. -- After waiting out a two-hour delay, the Lady Railsplitters (13-12, 10-9 SAC) outlasted the Anderson Trojans (10-15, 8-11 SAC) to capture a back-and-forth 25-19, 14-25, 25-16, 16-25, 15-9 victory in a pivotal South Atlantic Conference volleyball match on Friday in Anderson, S.C.
 
With the win, Lincoln Memorial sweeps the regular season series from Anderson and keeps pace in the bunched up SAC standings, retaining a share of fourth place with three matches remaining by improving to 10-9 in league play. The Lady Railsplitters snapped a two-match losing skid in Anderson and won inside the Abney Center for the first time since 2012, and they did so despite battling further adversity as the start of Friday's match was delayed two hours due to travel issues for the referees.
 
Powered by a clutch finish, Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) led all players in the match with a season-high 18 kills on a .355 attack percentage to go along with 14 digs and one solo block. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) produced 11 kills and five digs while Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) accounted for nine kills, six digs and two block assists. Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) and Danielle Ged (Smyrna, Tenn.) had six kills apiece and combined for four block assists. Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) handed out 43 assists and scooped up 15 digs while Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) tallied a team-leading 19 digs and matched her career-high with six aces.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Anderson traded runs early in the first set until the Lady Railsplitters asserted control late. Kills from Fleeman and Oates sandwiched around an Anderson attack error helped the Lady Railsplitters take a 7-4 lead. The Trojans would win five of the next seven points, though, a stretch capped by back-to-back LMU attack miscues, to draw the frame back even at 9-9.  A 4-1 spurt pushed Lincoln Memorial back out to a three-point lead at 13-10, but the Trojans responded with a 4-1 run of their own to tie the set for the fifth time. The Lady Railsplitters would rein command of the set for good in the next passage of play, though, as kills from Holland, Fleeman and Oates fueled a 4-0 flurry that kick-started an 11-5 closing run. Brock ended the Lady Railsplitters' 25-19 set-one victory with a kill.
 
The Lady Railsplitters won the first point of the second set thanks to a Marissa Mitter attack error, but the Trojans would win 10 of the next 14 rallies to race out to a commanding 10-5 lead. Nine of Anderson's 10 points over that span were earned via the kill. Three kills by Brock and another from Ged composed a brief 4-2 LMU run that trimmed the deficit to 12-9, but Anderson recalibrated and extended the lead back to 19-11 with a service error. The Lady Railsplitters never trailed by less than seven points for the remainder of the set, as AU finished on a 4-1 run to tie the match with a 25-14 set-two triumph.
 
A lengthy service run by Whiteaker staked the Lady Railsplitters to a big lead early in the third set. With Anderson leading 2-1, Holland put a ball away to give Lincoln Memorial side-out. And that would begin a 9-0 LMU run that featured four Whiteaker service aces and put the Lady Railsplitters in front 10-2. The Trojans won the next two points, but the Lady Railsplitters answered with another long rally, this time a 6-0 spurt to build an insurmountable 16-4 advantage. Anderson made it mildly interesting down the stretch, closing the gap to 22-14 with a kill by Mitter and a Megan Embry ace, but kills from Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.), Holland and Oates ended the frame 25-16 in the Lady Railsplitters' favor.
 
The Trojans went wild offensively in the fourth frame to force a decisive fifth set. A kill by Serena Jackson followed by an LMU attack error put Anderson in front 9-2, but Lincoln Memorial regained some momentum and closed the gap to 11-7 with a 4-2 spurt powered by a couple of Whiteaker aces. The home team dug back in, though, and extended the lead back to seven points at 19-12 on a kill by Jackson. A kill by Holland made it 19-15 late, but Anderson won six of the last seven rallies in the set to finish off the 25-16 victory. The Trojans hit .359 with 17 kills in the set while Lincoln Memorial had just nine kills with a .073 hitting percentage.
 
The tables were turned in the fifth and final set, however, as Holland powered the Lady Railsplitters in the clincher with six kills. Lincoln Memorial trailed 5-2 early before a kill by Oates and two from Brock catapulted the visiting unit in front 6-5. The two teams traded points over the next three rallies to meet in a 7-7 tie before Holland took over, producing kills in three of the next four possessions to put the Lady Railsplitters on top 10-8. Lincoln Memorial would not lose another point the rest of the way, capping the 6-0 closing run with four straight kills, two of which came from Holland. The Lady Railsplitters saved their best for last, hitting .417 in the fifth frame with 12 kills.
 
Lincoln Memorial had 53 kills, 25 errors and a .172 attack percentage to go along with nine aces, 81 digs and eight block assists. Anderson finished with 52 kills, 18 errors and a .209 attack percentage. The Trojans also added 74 digs, eight aces and 12 block assists.
 
Jackson paced the Trojans with 15 kills on a .464 hitting percentage. Mitter added 13 kills and 12 digs while Tinsley Hallman had 10 kills and six digs. Priscilla Irizarry notched 39 assists and a match-high 20 digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters complete the weekend road trip with a 4 p.m. first serve at Newberry on Saturday.