JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (3-5, 1-4 SAC) nearly pulled off a stunning upset but fell a bit short down the stretch in a five-set loss to the Carson-Newman Eagles (8-1, 5-0 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Tuesday in Jefferson City, Tenn. Lincoln Memorial lost by scores of 15-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-19 and 9-15.
 
Carson-Newman entered Tuesday's in-state rivalry match riding a six-match winning streak in which they had lost just one total set. The Lady Railsplitters, who have dropped four straight matches since defeating Brevard in five sets in the SAC opener on September 11, took two sets from the Eagles and came ever so close to handing them their first league loss. Grand Valley State is the only other team to win at least two sets against Carson-Newman this season.
 
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) posted a career-high 18 kills with a .289 attack percentage to lead the Lady Railsplitters. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) finished with 11 kills, five digs and four block assists, while Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) accounted for seven kills, 11 digs and four blocks. Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) had six kills.
 
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) tallied another double-double with 40 assists and 12 digs. Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with 16 digs, while Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) contributed 15 scoops.
 
Lincoln Memorial produced 50 kills with 27 attack errors for a .153 attack percentage. They matched the season-high mark with 16 block assists but committed seven reception errors and eight service miscues.
 
The Lady Railsplitters had no answer for the Eagles' attacking front in the first set as Carson-Newman accounted for 14 kills and a .480 attack percentage in a 25-15 victory. Lincoln Memorial helped Carson-Newman's cause by committing five service errors. The Eagles led wire-to-wire, taking the first three points before eventually extending the lead to 14-6 after back-to-back kills from Molly Locke and Anna Patton. The gap narrowed to 15-9 following the C-N's first attack error, but four unanswered points pushed the Eagles advantage to 19-9. The Lady Railsplitters won six of the next 11 rallies to trim the final deficit before Locke's kill ended the set.
 
Carson-Newman and Lincoln Memorial were tied at 5-5 in the second set following Oates's kill, but the Eagles reeled off a 9-2 run over the next 11 rallies to take a 14-7 lead. Sara Fairley led the charge over that stretch for Carson-Newman with four kills. The Lady Railsplitters came to life after facing their second big deficit, ripping off eight unanswered point to take a 15-14 lead, their first lead of the match. Two kills from Fleeman and four C-N attacking miscues carried the LMU run. The Lady Railsplitters continued to extend their lead, pushing in front 21-16 on a Molly Locke attack error. The Eagles clawed back within one point two times down the stretch, making it a 24-23 set on a Megan Morris service ace, but a kill by Allison McKinnon (Missouri City, Texas) and an Eagle error clinched the set for LMU.
 
Carson-Newman came out with renewed vigor after the 10-minute break between the second and third sets, using a 9-3 flurry to turn an 8-6 lead into a 17-9 cushion. 10 of the Eagles' 17 points in that portion of the set were won off of Lady Railsplitter errors while only four came off of kills. Lincoln Memorial showed some late life and trimmed the deficit to 21-19 on a kill by Cash, but Carson-Newman ended the set with four unanswered points to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
The Lady Railsplitters refused to go quietly in the fourth set, producing 15 points via the kill on a .353 attack percentage to force a decisive fifth set with a 25-19 triumph. The two teams were tied at five apiece early before Lincoln Memorial steadily began to creep away, taking a 10-8 lead on a Fleeman kill. A kill by Oates increased the Lady Railsplitters lead to 15-10, while a C-N ball handling error made it 20-15. The Lady Railsplitters never led by less than three points the rest of the way, completing the win with kills from Fleeman and Oates.
 
That momentum carried over into the fifth set for a brief period, as the lady Railsplitters grabbed a 7-4 lead on Erica Whiteaker's (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) service ace. But the Eagles denied the Lady Railsplitters a runaway and ultimately sealed the match by ripping off five straight points over the ensuing passage of play to take a 9-7 lead. A kill by Holland made it 9-8, but the Eagles won five consecutive points again to force match point at 14-8. Carson-Newman won it two rallies later on a kill by Locke.   
 
The Eagles were led by Sara Fairley, who amassed a match-high 19 kills with seven digs and two block assists. Natalie Harris had 11 kills and a match-high five block assists, while Molly Locke posted 10 kills and eight digs. Anna Patton produced 44 assists and seven digs. Taylor Lowe led all players with 17 digs.
 
Carson-Newman committed a season-high 25 attack errors and hit .189 in the match. The Eagles also hurt themselves with 12 service errors.
 
The Lady Railsplitters fell to Carson-Newman for the third straight time since the start of last season. It marks just the second three-match winning streak for the Eagles against Lincoln Memorial since the turn of the century. The Lady Railsplitters still own a 29-18 advantage in the all-time series.
 
Next up, the Lady Railsplitters welcome the Coker Cobras to Mary Mars Gym on Friday, September 25 for a 7 p.m. South Atlantic Conference contest.