HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (22-7, 16-5 SAC) were saddled with their third consecutive loss in a 3-0 setback to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (11-17, 9-12 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Friday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium. With the loss, Lincoln Memorial falls out of a tie for first place in the SAC standings, while Lenoir-Rhyne notched its third straight win over a first-place team.
On a night when the Lady Railsplitters honored their five seniors –
Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio),
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio),
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.),
Jamie Jehne (Hollywood, Fla.) and
Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) – they couldn't get anything going offensively. Despite producing a 39-37 edge in kills, Lincoln Memorial committed 22 attack errors to finish with a .121 attack percentage.
Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) led the Lady Railsplitters with 10 kills to go along with 11 assists and three digs. Brock had eight kills and seven digs, but committed seven attack errors and three reception errors.
Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) and Jehne had five kills and four blocks apiece, while
Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) and Fleeman tallied four kills piece.
Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) was held to just 24 assists and 15 digs, while
Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) led the way with 26 digs.
Lenoir-Rhyne, who beat LMU after knocking off both Wingate and Queens in its last two matches, registered 37 kills on a .191 attack percentage.
Brooke Redmond led all players with 11 kills to go along with 10 digs, while Brandi Thomas contributed nine kills on 29 attempts for a .241 clip while chipping in a team-leading 18 digs. Emily Steele had eight kills, two aces and four blocks. Emma Pope and Bailey Cloninger combined for 25 assists, with Pope pacing that duo with 14 assists and 11 digs. Emma Born also added 17 digs.
Lenoir-Rhyne grabbed an early 9-4 lead in the opening set on a kill by Abbi Stacherski. However, the Lady Railsplitters answered with a 5-0 run, pulling back even at 9-9 on an L-R attack error. The two teams traded points over the ensuing passage of play before the Bears used a 4-1 spurt to grab a 17-14 lead on a Steele service ace. Lincoln Memorial fought back and drew the set even at 17-17 on a kill by
Abby Cash, however, the Bears won the next four points to grab a 21-17 lead. The Lady Railsplitters nearly erased that deficit as well, but couldn't quite get over the hump, as a kill by Thomas clinched L-R's 25-22 win.
The Lady Railsplitters led 9-6 in the second set following a Bears attack error, but Lenoir-Rhyne went on an 8-2 run over the next stretch, grabbing a 14-11 lead on back-to-back LMU miscues. The Lady Railsplitters would answer and eventually build a 19-17 lead on a kill by
Lindsey Nartker (New Carlisle, Ohio), but Lenoir-Rhyne answered with a 6-0 run, taking a 23-19 lead on an ace by Redmond. Steele later wrapped up the Bears' 25-21 win with a kill.
The third set was all knotted up at 9-9 after an L-R attack error, but the Bears took command of the board with a 5-1 spurt over the next passage. A setting error by the Lady Railsplitters kept the Bears ahead 15-11 after that. Lenoir-Rhyne led 19-15 after a Born ace, but the Lady Railsplitters rallied all the way back to take a 21-20 lead on an L-R miscue. Lincoln Memorial later forced set point by taking a 24-22 lead on a kill by Sam Cash, but the Bears ended the set on a 4-0 run, capped by back-to-back kills by Redmond, to clinch the straight-sets sweep with a 26-24 victory.
The Lady Railsplitters will look to snap that three-match losing streak on Saturday, as they wrap up the regular season against Brevard at 1 p.m. inside of Mary Mars Gymnasium.
