HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University's men's volleyball team achieved a number of program firsts Saturday afternoon in their five-set thriller over the Alderson Broaddus Battlers (0-2). The Railsplitters (1-2), playing in their inaugural home match, produced the program's first set and match wins.
Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) led the balanced Railsplitter attack with 11 kills and added five assists.
Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) and
Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) produced ten kills apiece, while
Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) pitched in nine. Ryan Iskander (Tempe, Ariz.) racked up 32 of the team's 45 assists, and
NyJaee Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) led the way with nine digs.
Obenda Besongngem led the Battlers with a match-high 17 kills and 42 attempts. Benjamin Bravo (21) and Jose Ramirez (20) combined for 41 of the team's 45 assists, while Bravo and Erik Arroyo accounted for nine digs apiece.
Alderson Broaddus used an early 6-0 run to jump to a 7-3 lead and take the lead for good in the first set. Lincoln Memorial kept the deficit within striking distance for the entirety of the set, aided by four service aces, but couldn't muster a similar run to pull even. Service errors ultimately did the Railsplitters in, as they committed six to the Battlers' one in the 25-21 defeat.
That Railsplitter run came early in the second set, as they used a 12-5 run to jump to a 16-9 advantage. The first seven points of the run were courtesy of Battler errors. Lincoln Memorial produced its strongest hitting percentage to date at .409, while Alderson Broaddus committed 13 total errors. With the lead up to 24-16, the Railsplitters appeared poised to claim its first ever victory in a set after being swept in straight sets in its first two matches. A Battler kill and ensuing attack error by Carvalho briefly put the celebration on hold before Cory hit home a set from Iskandar to send Mary Mars Gymnasium into a frenzy.
Lincoln Memorial carried its momentum into the third set as the Railsplitters used a 7-0 run to vault ahead 8-3. That lead grew to 14-6 before Alderson Broaddus recollected to go on a 7-1 run of its own. Lincoln memorial responded with a 7-3 run to pull back ahead comfortably on its way to the 25-19 victory. Both teams hit their lowest percentages of any set as they combined for 26 total errors. The Battlers were undone by a paltry -.095 hitting percentage, while the Railsplitters weren't much better at .115.
Both teams looked evenly matched early in the fourth set as they played to a 6-6 tie. The teams then mostly traded the next 20 rallies on their way to a 16-16 stalemate. The Battlers took a lead eight times during this span only for the Railsplitters to tie the score each time. Alderson Broaddus finally built upon one of its tenuous leads by winning three consecutive points to go ahead 19-16. The teams traded points four more times before Lincoln Memorial won three of its own to tie the score again at 23, but the Battlers earned the set's final two points on a kill and attack error to tie the match at two sets apiece.
The Railsplitters quickly jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth and deciding set, but Alderson Broaddus worked its way back into a 10-10 tie. Lincoln Memorial battled back to go up 14-12 with a chance to clinch its first ever match victory. Two Battler kills again delayed any Railsplitter celebration, but an attack error on Terrell Hightower gave Lincoln Memorial another opportunity. Riblett spiked home the final point to secure the win.
Lincoln Memorial will next travel to Springfield, Ohio for matches against Wittenberg, Cincinnati Christian and Mount St. Joseph January 20-21.
