WINGATE, N.C. -- The second-seeded Lady Railsplitters (25-7) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the three-seeded Newberry Wolves (20-12) in five sets to advance to the title match of the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Championship for the first time since 2008 on Friday evening at Cuddy Arena in Wingate, N.C. Along with that, Lincoln Memorial broke the program's single-season record for wins with its 25th win of the 2016 campaign.
 
With the win, the Lady Railsplitters booked a spot in the SAC Championship title match for the second time since joining the league in 2007 and the first time since the 2008 SAC tournament. Lincoln Memorial, who snapped a four-game losing streak in the SAC semifinals, will play the winner of No. 1 Wingate and No. 4 Queens at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Powered by four players that tallied at least 12 kills, the Lady Railsplitters piled up a season-high 70 kills on a .193 attack percentage. On the other side, Newberry finished just shy of that mark with 68 kills, but the Wolves committed 36 attack errors and posted a .130 attack percentage.
 
All-SAC first team selection Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) led the Lady Railsplitters with 16 kills to go along with four assists, two digs and two blocks. Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) piled up 15 kills with six blocks and three digs, while Jamie Jehne (Hollywood, Fla.) racked up a season-high 13 kills on a .379 attack percentage with eight blocks. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) added 12 kills and 15 digs. All-SAC first team setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) had another near triple-double with 54 assists, 18 digs and six kills.
 
Sophomore libero Erica Whiteaker (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) turned in the performance of the match for the Lady Railsplitters, though, racking up a career-high and program record 45 digs. That effort shattered the program's previous single-game high for a five-set match of 40, which was set by Alicia MacIntyre in 2007.
 
Newberry was led by Logan Hayward's 24 kills and 19 digs. Toni-Anne Whitlow chipped in 16 kills, while Madison Darby-McClure had 12 kills, nine digs and four blocks. Maggie Marsh produced 52 assists and 26 digs, while Kensley Jordan led the Wolves with 30 digs.
 
The first frame was tightly contested throughout, as neither team established a lead larger than one until Newberry grabbed a 9-7 cushion on a kill by Toni-Anne Whitlow. The Wolves extended their lead to 13-10 on an ace from Logan Hayward, but the Lady Railsplitters responded with a 5-2 run, drawing the set even at 15-15 on a kill by Jehne. Newberry maintained a slight edge for the next passage of play and led 18-17 before the Lady Railsplitters wrestled away control with a 4-0 flurry. A Newberry attack error put LMU ahead 21-18. The Lady Railsplitters continued to hold sway and took a 24-22 lead on a kill by Holland. However, a ball-handling error and a Whitlow kill drew the set even at 24-24. The Lady Railsplitters had three more chances to clinch the set after that with 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26 leads, but Newberry stiff-armed each of those opportunities and churned out a timely 4-0 run to win it 29-27. Hayward clinched the Wolves' back-and-forth victory with a kill.
 
Newberry held a brief 3-2 lead in the second set, but the Lady Railsplitters gained control of the frame with an 8-1 run, grabbing a 10-4 lead on a Wolves attack error. Lincoln Memorial pushed its lead to 13-6 later in the set on a kill by Abby Cash. Newberry trimmed some off the deficit with three quick points, but the Lady Railsplitters countered with a 4-1 run to take a 17-10 lead. Lincoln Memorial increased its lead to 23-13 on a kill by Brock. From there, the final outcome was never in question, but Newberry did pull within five points with a 6-1 run. However, Brock capped LMU's 25-19 win with a kill.
 
The third set mirrored the first in many ways, as the Lady Railsplitters rallied and had a chance to win it late but couldn't come up with the play they needed to get over the hump. A 3-0 spurt powered by back-to-back kills by Hayward put the Wolves ahead 14-10. Lincoln Memorial whittled away at the Wolves' lead and made it 17-15 on a Newberry miscue, but the Wolves used a 4-1 spurt over the next passage to build a 21-16 lead. Newberry continued to hold a five-point cushion at 23-18 following an LMU attack error. However, the Lady Railsplitters answered by scoring five unanswered points, a stretch that featured four Newberry attack errors and a kill by Holland, to tie the match at 23-23. The Wolves still forced set point at 24-23 after that on a kill by Hayward, but kills from Jehne and Brock gave the Lady Railsplitters a 25-24 lead. However, Newberry responded with a 3-0 run, winning the set 27-25 on an LMU miscue.
 
The fourth set was another tightly-contested affair. With the score tied at 8-8, the Lady Railsplitters scored three unanswered points and took an 11-8 lead on a kill by Holland. Newberry battled back from there and tied it at 12-12 on a kill by Hayward, but the Lady Railsplitters won three of the next four rallies to snag a 15-13 lead on a kill by Brock. The set would be tied once more after that, as Whitlow pulled Newberry even at 16-16 with a kill. However, Lincoln Memorial followed that up with an 8-1 run. The Wolves had five attack errors over that stretch, while Jehne capped it with an ace, which put LMU up 24-17. Holland later sent the match to a decisive fifth set with a kill.
 
Newberry established an early 5-4 lead in the fifth set, but the Lady Railsplitters flipped the script over the next passage, churning out a 5-1 run to take a 9-6 lead on a Wolves attack error. Newberry won two of the next three rallies to close the deficit to 10-8, but LMU pushed back ahead 12-9 on a kill by Sam Cash. A late 4-2 run made things interesting and closed the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 14-13, but a kill by Abby Cash ended it at 15-13 in favor of Lincoln Memorial.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will play either No. 1 Wingate or No. 4 Queens in the SAC Championship title match at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats and video links for that contest are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
Quick Hits
-The Lady Railsplitters finished with 22 block assists in the match, led by seven from Jehne and six from Holland.
-With the win, Lincoln Memorial avenges a 3-2 loss to Newberry at Mary Mars Gym back on October 21. It was just the second all-time postseason meeting against Newberry, who the Lady Railsplitters defeated the Wolves in five sets in the quarterfinals of the 2009 SAC tournament.
-Lincoln Memorial surpassed the 1998, 1999 and 2000 teams for the program's single-season record for wins.