HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) amassed a season-high 19 kills while Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) produced a near triple-double to lead the second-seeded Lady Railsplitters (24-7) to a 3-1 win over the seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (12-18) in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Championship on Tuesday night at Mary Mars Gym.
 
With the win, Lincoln Memorial matches the program's single-season record for wins and advances to the semifinals of the SAC Championship to face the three-seeded Newberry Wolves, who knocked off Catawba on Tuesday night in straight sets.
 
The Cash sisters ensured that the Lady Railsplitters would be making their fourth trip to the SAC Championship semifinals in the past seven seasons, as Lincoln Memorial rallied behind that duo to avenge a 3-0 loss against Lenoir-Rhyne last Friday, which denied the Lady Railsplitters the opportunity of claiming a share of the SAC regular-season title.
 
Sam Cash had a career-high 19 kills on a .324 attack percentage while also contributing seven assists, three aces and six digs. Abby Cash, meanwhile, tallied 39 assists and 22 digs while matching a career-high mark with eight kills. Along with that pair, Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) notched 11 kills with four digs and two blocks, while Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) posted nine kills on just 18 attempts for a .444 clip. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) also had eight kills, while Jamie Jehne (Hollywood, Fla.) recorded five kills and five blocks. Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) chipped in 16 digs.
 
As a team, the Lady Railsplitters racked up 62 kills on a .196 attack percentage. By comparison, Lenoir-Rhyne tallied just 42 kills on a .137 clip. Lincoln Memorial played a big part in the Bears' offensive inefficiency with 20 block assists on the night.
 
Emily Steele led the Bears with 12 kills, while Brooke Redmond had 10 kills and 12 digs. Jaclyn Denny and Katrina Samuels had seven kills apiece. Bailey Cloninger led the team with 18 assists to go along with 10 digs, while Jillian Born had a team-leading 16 digs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters built a seemingly unimpeachable lead in the opening set, but a plethora of errors down the stretch ultimately allowed Lenoir-Rhyne to make an improbable comeback. Lincoln Memorial led 10-7 after an L-R attack error, but the Bears used kills from Steele and Redmond to close the gap to one. However, the Lady Railsplitters would rally off a 12-3 run over the next stretch. Kills by Holland, Jehne and Sam Cash capped the spurt, which gave Lincoln Memorial a commanding 22-12 lead. Despite that 10-point cushion, Lenoir-Rhyne would fight and claw all the way back, finishing the set with a 13-1 flurry that was aided by 10 various errors by LMU (four attack, four reception and two ball-handling). Lenoir-Rhyne's third ace of the set clinched the Bears' stunning 25-23 come-from-behind victory.
 
Lincoln Memorial never trailed in the second set, but the Bears didn't make it easy on the Lady Railsplitters and threatened to steal the set late. LMU opened the frame on a 7-1 run, capped by back-to-back L-R miscues. The Bears steadily worked their way back into the set from there and eventually drew it back even at 14-14 on an LMU attack error. The Lady Railsplitters never gave up the lead, though, winning four of the next five points to pull ahead 18-15. However, the Bears stayed within striking distance and tied the set three different times, with the final stalemate coming at 20-20 on a kill by Redmond. But from there, the Lady Railsplitters took the lead for good, winning the next two points on kills from Gill and Sam Cash. An L-R ball-handling error ended the set and evened the match at 1-1. Sam Cash was the star of the second set, tallying seven of the Lady Railsplitters' 16 kills.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne held sway early in the third set, taking a 6-4 lead on a kill by Jaclyn Denny. The Bears retained a two-point edge at 10-8 following a kill from Steele. However, the Lady Railsplitters built a lead they would not relinquish over the next passage of play, scoring seven unanswered points to establish a 15-10 edge. Back-to-back kills by Sam Cash ended that flurry. The Bears won the next point, but the Lady Railsplitters won five of the next seven to extend their lead to 20-13 on a block by Jehne and Cash. Lincoln Memorial never led by less than six after that and ended the 25-16 win with a 4-1 run.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne led 4-3 early in the fourth set, but the Lady Railsplitters answered with a 4-0 run and took a 7-4 lead on back-to-back kills by Jehne. The Bears controlled the next passage of play, though, winning six of the next seven rallies to grab a 10-8 lead on a kill by Steele. Lenoir-Rhyne continued to hold a 13-11 lead following another Steele kill, but the Lady Railsplitters turned the tide of the set after that, finishing on a 14-2 run to clinch the match with a 25-15 victory. Within that 14-2 spurt, Lincoln Memorial won the final 10 points of the set, a stretch that was powered by three Sam Cash aces.  
 
The victory not only pushed Lincoln Memorial into the SAC Championship semifinals, but it matched the 1998, 1999 and 2000 teams for the program's single-season record for wins. With a win on Friday, the Lady Railsplitters would break that mark and advance to the SAC Tournament championship for the first time since 2008.
 
The Lady Railsplitters now hit the road to Wingate, N.C. for the semifinals of the SAC Championship, where the three-seeded Newberry Wolves await. Lincoln Memorial and Newberry square off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, with the winner advancing to play the winner between Wingate and Queens in the SAC Championship title match on Saturday.