HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (4-2, 1-1 SAC) committed a season-high 31 attack errors and saw their three-match winning streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (2-4, 1-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon at Mary Mars Gymnasium. Lincoln Memorial dropped the match by scores of 20-25, 18-25, 27-25 and 16-25.
 
The Lady Railsplitters slipped to 10-11 in the all-time series against Lenoir-Rhyne and lost their fifth consecutive head-to-head match versus the Bears, a streak that dates back to October 12, 2013.
 
The Bears entered Saturday's contest with a struggling offense that was having a hard time producing kills efficiently, while opposing offenses were having a field day. Lenoir-Rhyne reversed that trend against the Lady Railsplitters, limiting the home team to a season-worst .099 attack percentage with a season-high 31 errors, their most since this exact date last season when they miscued 33 times in a four-set win over Belmont Abbey. Lenoir-Rhyne, meanwhile, notched 51 kills with 19 errors and a .196 attack percentage.
 
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) was a bright spot in the Lady Railsplitters' attack as she accounted for a team-leading 13 kills and 10 digs on a .265 attack percentage. It was Fleeman's fourth straight double-digit kill performance of the season. Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) posted eight kills - her most since November 29, 2012 - and 16 digs. Danielle Ged (Smyrna, Tenn.) and Allison McKinnon (Missouri City, Texas) added six kills apiece. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) led all players with 21 digs, while Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) just missed out on her sixth straight double-double with a match-high 40 assists and nine digs.
 
The Bears led the first set wire-to-wire, taking the first four rallies and 16 of the first 24 to race out to a commanding 16-8 advantage. The Lady Railsplitters made it a bit more interesting down the stretch by cutting the deficit to 23-18 on a Whiteaker service ace, but two kills from Emily Steele secured Lenoir-Rhyne's 25-20 victory in set one.
 
Three straight kills from Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) and a kill from Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) helped the Lady Railsplitters grab an early 5-3 lead in the second set. But the momentum quickly swung as the Bears won the point in nine of the next 12 rallies, using three kills from Brooke Redmond over that span to assume a 12-8 cushion. L-R used three more kills and three LMU attack errors to extend their lead to 19-12 later in the set. Kills from Ashley Wells and Morgan Bunker gave the Bears a 25-18 set two victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Lady Railsplitters trailed 11-7 in the third frame before riding a tough serve from Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) to grab a 12-11 lead. The Bears answered with a 6-2 scoring run, a stretch that was capped by a Samantha Bishop kill, to regain the lead at 17-14. The Lady Railsplitters pulled to within two on two separate occasions, but a kill from Brandi Thomas gave the Bears a 24-20 lead and four chances at securing match point. From there, the Lady Railsplitters ripped off five unanswered points thanks to a Mense service ace, two L-R attack errors and kills from Ged and Fleeman to take a 25-24 lead. The Bears knotted it up at 25-25 but a kill from Ged and another Bear attack error gave the Lady Railsplitters life with a 27-25 set win.
 
That momentum was short-lived, though, as the Lady Railsplitters hit -.020 in the fourth frame and fell behind 16-10 by the midway point. The deficit was never less than five from that point on as a Redmond kill and a Steele service ace ended the match.
 
Redmond, the 2014 SAC Freshman of the Year, led the Bears with 16 kills to go along with 11 digs. Bunker posted 12 kills and a team-leading 20 digs, while Wells accounted for 10 kills. Bailey Cloninger (20) and Briana Gottberg (18) combined for 38 assists in the match.
 
The Lady Railsplitters next travel to Charlotte, N.C. for a South Atlantic Conference showdown against the Queens Royals, set for a 7 p.m. start on Friday, September 18.