SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Lincoln Memorial volleyball team washed away the memory of a disappointing season-opening performance with a pair of monster in-region victories on the final day of the 2015 Pirate Invitational on Saturday in Savannah, Ga. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters (2-1) rolled through the Erskine Flying Fleet (1-2) in straight sets in the morning match, winning by scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 26-24.
 
The afternoon contest was the highlight of the weekend, though, as they erased a 2-1 deficit to defeat the 25th-ranked Armstrong Pirates in a five-set thriller by scores of 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 25-23 and 15-9. It marked the first win over a top-25 nationally ranked opponent in program history, according to historical data dating back to the 1989 season.
 
Both Erskine and Armstrong appeared in the 2014 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, while the Pirates have combined for a 131-14 record over the past four seasons.
 
Lincoln Memorial defeated Armstrong for the first time in program history, snapping a streak of six consecutive losses dating back to the 2000 season. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters begin South Atlantic Conference play and debut at Mary Mars Gymnasium next weekend, hosting Brevard in the home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 11. Lenoir-Rhyne completes the weekend series at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Lincoln Memorial 3, Erskine 0
 
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) led the Lady Railsplitters in the straight-set victory, posting 11 kills. Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) added 10 kills with four blocks, while Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) collected four kills and four blocks.
 
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) notched 23 assists and 15 digs. Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) tallied 11 digs, while Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) helped out in serve with three aces.
 
The Lady Railsplitters jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening set, and the gap increased to 16-5 thanks to an aggressive effort in service. The lead grew as large as 21-7 before Erskine closed the gap late to make it a 25-14 final.
 
The Flying Fleet held an early 9-6 lead in the second set but the Lady Railsplitters rode a sturdy block to pull in front, 10-9. The set went back-and-forth the rest of the way until the Lady Railsplitters closed out the 25-23 victory. 
 
Erskine led for almost all of the third set, carrying a 19-15 advantage late in the frame. The Lady Railsplitters bounced back to tie it up at 24-24 before eventually capturing a 26-24 win.
 
It was the first-ever meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Erskine, who won the Conference Carolinas tournament championship in 2014.
 
Lincoln Memorial 3, No. 25 Armstrong 2
 
Junior outside hitter Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) carried the Lady Railsplitters' attack with a season-high 17 kills on a .353 attack percentage, adding six digs and two blocks assists. Fleeman contributed 12 kills, while Oates filled out the stat sheet with eight kills, five digs and four block assists.
 
Cash led all players with 44 assists, matched a team-high mark with 17 digs, collected four kills on just eight attempts, and logged a pair of block assists. Whiteaker also finished with 17 digs in the match, setting a new career high.
 
The Lady Railsplitters hit .183 in the contest with 53 kills and 25 errors. Armstrong mustered 54 kills but hit just .153 with 29 attack errors.
 
LMU worked back to knot set one at 10-10 following back-to-back Armstrong attack errors, and that momentum carried into the midway point, as a kill from Brock made it 16-13 in favor of the Lady Railsplitters. Armstrong never cut the deficit to less than three for the remainder of the set. A kill by Fleeman followed by another Pirate miscue gave the Lady Railsplitters a 25-20 victory.
 
Kristi Vaughn's service ace - one of 12 aces for Armstrong in the match - put the Pirates in front 12-4 in the second set. After that slow start, Lincoln Memorial clawed back and eventually grabbed a 23-22 lead on a Caitlynn King ball-handling error. Armstrong would complete the set with three unanswered points, though, to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Lady Railsplitters found themselves back in the driver's seat, 16-14, on Bristol Snider's (Chattanooga, Tenn.) ace in the third set. The momentum quickly swung as Armstrong claimed the point in nine of the next 12 rallies to assume a 23-19 advantage. Brock cut the deficit to 23-20 with a kill, but the Pirates held on for a 25-21 win.
 
After trailing for nearly the entirety of the fourth set, the Lady Railsplitters used a 4-1 flurry, capped by an Armstrong service error, to tie it up at 20-20. An Emily Wylie kill put the Pirates up by one, but two kills by Fleeman and one from Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) completed LMU's come-from-behind victory and forced a fifth set.  
 
The Lady Railsplitters led wire-to-wire in the fifth set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead which eventually grew to 11-6. Armstrong pulled back to within four at 12-8, but a 3-0 closing run ended the Lady Railsplitters' decisive 15-9 triumph.
 
Wylie paced the Pirates and led all players with 23 kills. Anna McGee added 15 kills, while Paige Gocke contributed nine. Carley Eiken posted 27 assists and 11 digs. Selene Ushela led all players with 22 scoops.