HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters rode a dominant defensive effort to a convincing 3-0 win (25-23, 25-14, 25-20) over the Queens Royals in a battle for second place in the South Atlantic Conference standings on Saturday afternoon at Mary Mars Gymnasium.
 
Lincoln Memorial (11-2, 8-1 SAC) and Queens (9-4, 6-2 SAC) entered Saturday's match with one loss apiece in SAC play, while the Royals were riding the momentum of a five-match winning streak, but the Lady Railsplitters completely stymied the Queens offense to match the program's best start since the 2011 team opened at 11-2.
 
In just three sets, the Lady Railsplitters racked up a season-high 22 block assists to hold the Royals to a season-low .047 attack percentage. Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) led that effort with six block assists and a solo block, while Jamie Jehne (Hollywood, Fla.) had five block assists and Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) added four. In contrast, the Lady Railsplitters hit .216 as a unit and collected 39 kills.
 
Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) led the way with 12 kills on just 27 attempts to go along with eight digs and three block assists. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio), fresh off a career-high 19 kills against Catawba, had nine kills and nine digs. Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) tacked on eight kills, while Gill contributed six on just 12 swings. Abby Cash paired 29 assists and 21 digs with her four blocks, while Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) chipped in nine scoops.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth affair, with Queens taking an early 11-6 lead on kills from Alex Thompson and Meredith Jones. However, the Lady Railsplitters went on a 5-0 run paced by two kills from Gill to draw the set even at 11-11. The Royals later pulled out to a 15-12 lead on a kill from Rebecca Cochran, but Lincoln Memorial went on a 9-4 run over the next passage, taking a 21-19 lead on a block by Jehne and Abby Cash. The set was later tied at 22-22, but a kill by Gill finished off a 3-1 run that gave LMU a 25-23 win.
 
The Lady Railsplitters hit their stride defensively in the second set, compiling seven blocks while allowing the Royals to accumulate just seven kills on a -.122 attack percentage. Lincoln Memorial held a narrow 9-7 lead early, but used a 7-0 flurry to build a commanding 16-7 lead. That stretch was highlighted by four straight blocks. The Royals could never recover from that demoralizing passage, as the Lady Railsplitters capped the 25-14 win with a block by Abby Cash and Jehne.
 
A 5-0 run put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 5-2 early in the third set, and a ball-handling error by the Royals kept Lincoln Memorial's lead at three midway through the frame. A couple of 3-0 runs helped Queens tie it up on two different occasions, but the Lady Railsplitters took the lead for good at 18-17 on a kill by Holland. Lincoln Memorial ended the match with three straight kills from Lindsey Nartker (New Carlisle, Ohio), Holland and Sam Cash to complete the straight-sets sweep.
 
Meredith Jones paced the Royals with a game-high 13 kills, but committed seven errors on 46 attempts for a .130 attack percentage. Rebecca Cochran chipped in nine kills, while Alex Thompson had five kills with six miscues. Sydney Kunz had four kills, 28 assists and nine digs, while Megan Mancini led the Royals with 16 digs.
 
With the win, the Lady Railsplitters return the favor from a 3-2 loss to Queens in last season's match at Mary Mars Gym. Lincoln Memorial improves to 7-4 all-time against the Royals and is now off to the best start to SAC play since joining the league in 2007.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be back in action on Friday, October 7, when they travel to Hickory, N.C. to face the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears at 7 p.m.