JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Carson-Newman Eagles in a five-set thriller and improve to 2-0 in South Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday night inside of Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tenn.
 
Lincoln Memorial (5-1, 2-0 SAC) looked like juggernauts in the opening set, but faltered in sets two and three to let the Eagles (1-5, 1-1 SAC) take command. However, the Lady Railsplitters responded in sets four and five, pushing their winning streak to five games by scores of 25-14, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-11. It marked LMU's second straight five-set win and first win in Jefferson City since 2013.
 
Junior outside hitter Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) turned in her second consecutive 20-kill performance, racking up a match-high 20 kills on a .231 attack percentage to go along with seven digs and three total blocks. Senior outside Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) notched 12 kills and 16 digs, while Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) collected 11 kills, two aces, nine digs and five blocks.
 
Senior setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) – this past week's Holiday Tire Railsplitter of the Week award recipient – finished in triple-double territory, amassing five kills, a match-high 44 assists, 11 digs, three aces and four blocks. Senior libero Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led all players with 25 digs, which she paired with six assists.
 
As a team, the Lady Railsplitters hit .219, surpassing the .200 threshold for fifth straight match, something they haven't accomplished since the 2014 campaign. On the other side, Lincoln Memorial collected 20 block assists and two solo blocks to limit the Eagles to a .167 attacking clip. Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) paced the Lady Railsplitters and matched a game-high mark with five block assists.
 
Carson-Newman was led by Abbie McFarlane and Marnie Streeter, as that duo accounted for 16 kills apiece. McFarlane also added 12 digs, but committed a game-high 10 attack errors. Alex Biro chipped in 10 kills. Morgan Harlan notched four kills, 31 assists and eight digs, while Taylor Lowe led the Eagles with 21 scoops.
 
The Lady Railsplitters looked like world beaters in the opening set, amassing 16 kills on a .500 attack percentage while holding the homestanding Eagles to a .059 clip. Lincoln Memorial never trailed in the set, using a 5-1 run fueled by kills from Brock, Holland and Abby Cash to take a 9-6 lead. The Eagles closed the gap to 10-8, but a 5-0 LMU run extended the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 15-8 on a C-N attack error. From there, the end result was never in question, as a kill by Sam Cash clinched the 25-14 victory.
 
Lincoln Memorial dominated the early portion of the second stanza, opening on a 7-0 run. The Eagles steadily whittled their way back into contention after that sluggish start, but a kill from Holland kept the Lady Railsplitters in front 16-11. However, Carson-Newman would win nine of the next 10 rallies to shift the momentum and take a 20-17 lead on a Jamie Jehne (Hollywood, Fla.) attack error. The Lady Railsplitters would never trail by less than two after that, as the Eagles drew it even with a 25-19 win.
 
The Lady Railsplitters found themselves leading again midway through the third set, as a kill from Brock made it 14-9 in favor of the visitors. But Lincoln Memorial would be stuck on that number for awhile, as the Eagles reeled off a 7-0 flurry to take a 16-14 lead on a kill from McFarlane. McFarlane gave the next point to the Lady Railsplitters via an attack error, but six of the next seven points would go to Carson-Newman. LMU was within striking distance late, but a service error ended the set and put the Eagles ahead two sets to one.
 
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, with the Lady Railsplitters taking a 13-9 lead on an ace from Abby Cash. The next passage of play belonged to the Eagles, though, as they stormed ahead 15-14 on a kill from McFarlane. From there, the set was tied on six different occasions until the Lady Railsplitters took the lead for good on kills from Lindsey Nartker (New Carlisle, Ohio) and Sam Cash. Holland clinched the 25-21 win and forced a decisive fifth set with a kill.
 
The Eagles raced out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth frame following an LMU service error and a kill from McFarlane, but the Lady Railsplitters went on a 5-0 run to build a 7-4 lead. However, the Eagles answered with a 5-0 run of their own, punctuated by three straight kills from Streeter, to take a 9-7 lead. It was then the Lady Railsplitters' turn to answer, though, as they ripped off seven consecutive points to take a commanding 14-9 lead. Holland kickstarted that run with back-to-back kills. Eventually, the Lady Railsplitters would win it on a C-N service error.
 
Like last Wednesday's win over Tusculum, the Lady Railsplitters' offense was at its best when it mattered the most, as they hit .375 in the final frame while holding the Eagles to a meager .053 clip.
 
With the win, the Lady Railsplitters improve to 31-18 all-time against Carson-Newman and 13-10 on the road in the series. Lincoln Memorial has now won back-to-back matches against the Eagles for the first time since 2013.
 
Tuesday's match was the first of a stretch that will see the Lady Railsplitters take to the road for five of their next six. Lincoln Memorial is back in action on Friday, heading to Newberry, S.C. for a 7 p.m. SAC match against the Newberry Wolves.