CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (3-3, 1-2 SAC) started fast with a dominant opening-set victory but watched as the Queens Royals (2-5, 1-2 SAC) won the next three sets to drop a 3-1 decision in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. Lincoln Memorial lost the match by scores of 25-17, 22-25, 23-25 and 17-25.
 
Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) led the Lady Railsplitters with 13 kills, 14 digs and a .320 attack percentage, while Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) accounted for 11 kills and a .296 attack percentage. Brooke Fleeman's (Nashville, Tenn.) streak of double-digit kill matches ended at four as she finished with eight kills and 10 digs. Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) produced 33 assists and eight digs. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) led all players with 15 digs.
 
Queens entered Friday's contest as the SAC leader in blocking, and the Royals didn't do anything to alter that standing. The Lady Railsplitters committed 21 attack errors with 42 kills and hit .158 as a team as Queens finished the match with 16 block assists and one solo block. Lincoln Memorial, meanwhile, registered just four block assists and two solo stonewalls. The Lady Railsplitters also hurt themselves in service and serve receive, combining for 17 reception and service errors.
 
The Lady Railsplitters led wire-to-wire in the opening set, taking the point in the first three rallies before extending the cushion to 10-6 on a kill by Brock. The visiting unit continued to extend the lead further as the set progressed, going up by five (14-9) on Danielle Ged's (Smyrna, Tenn.) kill and then jumping on top 18-11 thanks to a Queens attack error. The Royals never got within six points after that, as kills from Fleeman and Holland made it a 10-point LMU advantage. A Queens service miscue ended the Lady Railsplitters' 25-17 triumph.
 
A Megan Mancini ace gave the Royals an early 4-1 lead in set two, but the Lady Railsplitters won 10 of the next 13 rallies, capped by another Brock kill, to pull in front 11-7. Queens kept within striking distance through the middle passage of the frame, but back-to-back kills by Cash and Holland increased the LMU lead to 17-13. Brock's kill later in the set made it 20-17 in the Lady Railsplitters' favor before the momentum tilted quickly to Queens. Led by four Jessica Raines kills, Queens ripped off an 8-2 concluding run to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 victory.
 
Queens led from start to finish in the third set, but the Lady Railsplitters kept it close throughout. A kill by Holland cut the Royals' lead to 12-10 while another kill by Holland made it 16-13 in favor of Queens. A 4-1 run for the Royals increased LMU's deficit to 20-14, but the Lady Railsplitters won six of the next seven rallies, riding a strong service run from Mense, to pull within one at 21-20. Queens would hold on, though, securing the 25-23 win on a kill by Elizabeth Bialkowski and an LMU attack error.
 
The Lady Railsplitters had a slight 10-9 advantage in the fourth frame after a ball-handling error by Queens setter Sydney Kunz. That would Lincoln Memorial's last lead of the match, though, as the Royals went on an 8-0 run, paced by three Meredith Jones service aces, to take a 17-10 lead. The Lady Railsplitters whittled the lead down to 21-17 following a Queens attack error, but the Royals won the next four rallies to clinch the set 25-17.
 
Lincoln Memorial's offensive efficiency declined as the match progressed. After hitting .324 in the opening frame, the Lady Railsplitters hit .235, .220 and -.292 in the next three sets.
 
Queens, who produced 51 kills on a .196 attack percentage, were paced by Meredith Jones. She had a match-high 17 kills, a .308 attack percentage, and 10 digs. Jessica Raines had 10 kills on just 17 attempts for a .529 attack efficiency. Sydney Kunz (27) and Annika Jones (18) combined for 45 assists, while Rebecca Cochran led the Royals with 14 digs. Elizabeth Bialkowski was a thorn in the Lady Railsplitters' side all night, producing seven block assists.
 
Lincoln Memorial fell to 6-3 all-time against Queens and lost to the Royals for the first time since 2013, ending a two-match winning streak in the series.
 
Next up, the Lady Railsplitters take on the Catawba Indians in Salisbury, N.C. on Saturday. First serve is set for 2 p.m.