HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (3-1) overcame a 2-1 deficit and outlasted the Brevard Tornados (1-4) in the pulse-pounding fifth set to capture a thrilling 3-2 victory in the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball opener on Friday evening in Harrogate, Tenn. More than 700 raucous fans made their presence felt in Lincoln Memorial's Mary Mars Gymnasium debut.
 
The Lady Railsplitters won the match by scores of 25-23, 22-25, 26-28, 25-15 and 16-14 to improve to 20-0 all-time against Brevard and win the program's 22nd straight home opener, extending a streak that dates back to the 1994 campaign.
 
Setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) was the bona fide star of the night for the Lady Railsplitters as the junior fell just three kills shy of a triple-double, amassing 49 assists, 21 digs and seven kills on a ridiculously efficient .778 attack percentage. She was eight assists and two digs away from matching her previous career-highs.
 
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) led Lincoln Memorial with 15 kills while Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio), Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) and Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) contributed 14 kills apiece. Brock was also among the team leaders in digs with 12 scoops. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) racked up a career-high 30 digs to go along with five assists and two aces. Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) accounted for 21 digs and seven assists.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished with a .203 attack percentage, 74 kills and 27 attack errors. Brevard hit .162 in the match, a number that was affected substantially by the Tornados' .015 effort in the penultimate set. They ended the night with 63 kills and 26 errors.
 
A Brevard attack error followed by a ball-handling blunder pushed the Lady Railsplitters in front, 16-13, in set one, but the Tornados used kills from Whitney DeMoss and Rachel Ruble to even the frame at 19-19 just minutes later. Lincoln Memorial actually turned the lead over to Brevard at 22-21 on Fatima Gharachorloo's kill before scoring three unanswered points to regain a slight advantage. Cash ended the Lady Railsplitters' 25-23 victory by dropping a kill in-between three unsuspecting defenders.
 
The Lady Railsplitters led 13-8 in the second set following a kill from Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) but Brevard would get the point in eight of the next nine rallies, capped by another Ruble kill, to gain a 16-14 lead.  The home team was never able to recover from that momentum shift as the Tornados went on to win the set 25-22 and even the match at a set apiece.
 
The Lady Railsplitters dug themselves in a hole in the watershed third set, falling in a 10-5 deficit after a Brevard service ace. A Ruble kill helped the Tornados maintain a five-point advantage at 13-8 but Lincoln Memorial quickly worked back into the set, tying the frame at 15-15 on a kill by Oates. The set would be tied six more times before the Lady Railsplitters jumped in front and earned a chance to clinch set point at 24-23 on a Tornado attack error. Brevard fought off that set point as well as one more on kills by Gharachorloo, evened the set at 26-26 and captured a 28-26 victory thanks to yet another kill by Gharachorloo and an LMU attack error.
 
Brevard took a 10-7 lead early in the fourth set before a pair of lengthy service runs from Oates and Mense helped the Lady Railsplitters author a 14-3 run and assume a commanding 21-13 advantage. Lincoln Memorial never bent down the stretch, finishing off the 25-15 victory and forcing a fifth set with kills from Fleeman and Brock.
 
A kill by Fleeman followed by a Brevard attacking miscue vaulted the Lady Railsplitters out to a 12-7 advantage in the decisive fifth set. They would be unable to coast to the finish line, though, as the Tornados won the next five rallies to even it at 12-12. The set was tied two more times before the Lady Railsplitters completed the come-from-behind victory with back-to-back kills from Holland, causing an absolute eruption from the Mary Mars faithful, whose energy fueled the Lady Railsplitters' uphill climb.
 
Ruble paced the Tornados with 18 kills and seven block assists. Gharachorloo collected 17 kills and 21 digs. DeMoss posted 12 kills on a .242 attack percentage. Aleksandra Vrvilo led all players with 39 digs, while Erin Barr narrowly edged Cash for the game-high assist total with 50. Barr also contributed 23 digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters complete their home weekend series by hosting the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears at 2 p.m. on Saturday.