HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (12-10, 7-7 SAC) outlasted the Lady Railsplitters (11-11, 6-8 SAC) for a thrilling 29-27, 18-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-11 victory in South Atlantic Conference action in front of a raucous Mary Mars Gymnasium crowd on Tuesday night.
 
The loss snapped Lincoln Memorial's three-game SAC winning streak and dropped the Lady Railsplitters into sixth place in the league standings, as Carson-Newman ended a four-game losing streak in the series and defeated the Lady Railsplitters on their home turf for the first time since 2014.
 
Freshman Alicia Kessler led the Lady Railsplitters with a career-high 21 kills, 15 of which came in the first two sets. Lindsey Nartker added 12 kills, 20 digs and five assists, while Kiera Holland, Rylee Storms and Tone Gill chipped in eight kills apiece. Danielle Ged also recorded five kills with a team-high six blocks.
 
Danielle Stachura led the way with 27 assists while adding nine digs, while Olivia Brock chipped in 23 assists and eight digs. Erica Whiteaker posted a team-high 25 digs and Sarah Jones had 16.
 
Marnie Streeter and Megan Oldenburger carried the Carson-Newman attack, combining for 36 of the team's 55 kills. Streeter had 19 to go with 12 digs, while Oldenburger put away 17 kills and added 11 digs. Anna Patton produced a match-high 43 assists, while Morgan Ballard replicated Whiteaker's effort with a game-high 25 scoops.
 
A couple of massive individual efforts highlighted a back-and-forth first set that featured 10 ties and five lead changes. Carson-Newman's Streeter racked up seven kills on a .375 attack percentage while Lincoln Memorial's Kessler put down eight of the team's 18 kills on a .462 clip. It was ultimately Streeter's squad that came up on top, though.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were in control 14-11 after a kill from Storms and a C-N attack error, but the Eagles rallied off six unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead. Carson-Newman remained in control late in the set, extending its lead to 21-17 on an LMU miscue. It was then the Lady Railsplitters' turn to answer, as they used a 5-1 run to tie the set at 22-22. After that, Lincoln Memorial earned three different chances at set point, but kills from Streeter stiff-armed all three of those opportunities. After surviving three set points, Carson-Newman ended the frame on a 4-1 run to take a thrilling 29-27 victory.
 
Lincoln Memorial continued to ride Kessler in set two and she delivered with seven kills to help the Lady Railsplitters pull back even. Carson-Newman was in the driver's seat early and led 13-10 after a kill from Oldenburger. However, the Lady Railsplitters won nine of the next 10 rallies to build a commanding 19-14 lead. That was more than enough breathing room for the home team, who clinched a 25-18 on a kill by Kessler.
 
The Eagles dominated the third set from start to finish, scoring the first eight points of the frame before eventually pushing their lead to 18-6 on a kill from Oldenburger. The Lady Railsplitters put up a bit of fight after that, but that 12-point deficit proved to be far too much to overcome. Streeter's 13th kill of the match gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead with a 25-15 win.
 
The Lady Railsplitters matched Carson-Newman's fast start from the previous set by winning the first five points of set four. However, Lincoln Memorial found it much more difficult to close out the Eagles and extend the match. Carson-Newman fought back to close the gap to 10-8 before the Lady Railsplitters scored five straight points to extend the lead back to 15-8 on a block by Holland and Ged. Carson-Newman kept coming after that and pulled to within three at 18-15, but LMU won five of the next six rallies to make it 23-16. After absorbing a 4-0 C-N run, a service error helped the Lady Railsplitters clinch the 25-21 win.
 
The fifth frame matched the four preceding sets in terms of dramatic twists and turns. Lincoln Memorial took an 8-6 lead on a kill by Kessler, but the Eagles scored six unanswered points to storm ahead 12-8. The Lady Railsplitters won two of the next three points to make things tight once more before two kills from Oldenburger completed Carson-Newman's 15-11 win.  
 
The Lady Railsplitters hit the road this weekend for a pair of SAC matches, beginning with a trip to Salisbury, N.C. on Friday to face the Catawba Indians. First serve is set for 7 p.m.