HARROGATE, Tenn. – Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) reset his own program record for kills with 18 and was one of three players to finish with double-figure kills as the Railsplitters (4-9) defeated the St. Andrews Knights (3-8) in four sets at Mary Mars Gymnasium on Friday night. Lincoln Memorial dropped the opening set 25-22, but bounced back to win the next three 25-23, 25-17 and 25-17 to snap a four-match losing streak.
After failing to hit over .200 in four consecutive matches, the Railsplitters had their way offensively against the Knights, racking up a program-record 55 kills on a .310 attack percentage. That stands as the second-highest mark in program history behind Lincoln Memorial's .435 effort at Bluefield. On the other end of the spectrum, St. Andrews produced only 36 kills on a .151 clip.
Riblett led all players with a program-best 18 kills on a .343 attack percentage while also posting a match-high nine digs. Riblett had previously established the program-record for kills with 17 at Sacred Heart on February 5. He also had 16 against Lees-McRae.
Along with Riblett,
Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) racked up 13 kills on a .385 mark and
Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) notched 10 kills on just 16 attempts, good for a .438 hitting percentage.
Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) added eight kills.
Ryan Iskandar (Tempe, Ariz.) collected a program-record 45 assists with three aces and three digs, while
Jorge Collazo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) chipped in eight digs.
It was all St. Andrews early in the first set, as the Knights raced out to an 8-1 lead following two kills and an ace from Robin Imar. The Railsplitters whittled the deficit down to 9-5 over the next passage, but St. Andrews pushed the lead back to 14-8 on another Imar kill. Lincoln Memorial never let up despite trailing big, and fought back to eventually tie the set at 19-19 on a miscue by the Knights. However, St. Andrews won the next three rallies and later clinched the 25-22 win on an Imar ace.
A 5-0 run put the Knights in front 14-11 midway through the second set, but the Railsplitters clawed back and drew it even at 20-20 following a kill by Cory and a Knights hitting error. St. Andrews briefly regained the lead on the next rally, but LMU won four of the next five to take a 24-22 lead on an ace by Iskandar. Molina later finished off the set with a kill.
The Railsplitters controlled the early portion of the third set, as an ace by Riblett put Lincoln Memorial ahead 12-6. The Knights pulled within four points on three different occasions over the next stretch, but two kills from Riblett sandwiched around one from Iskandar extended the lead to 19-12. The Railsplitters never led by less than four after that, as back-to-back aces by Riblett finished off the set.
Lincoln Memorial buried the Knights in the fourth and final set, hitting a scalding-hot .550 while holding St. Andrews to a .125 mark. An ace from Iskandar followed by a Riblett kill made it 9-4 in favor of the Railsplitters. After a slight run by the Knights, the Railsplitters reeled off five straight points to assume a commanding 16-8 lead. LMU cruised to the finish line from there, finishing off the set with Riblett's 18th kill of the match.
Imar led the Knights with 13 kills, while Nate Blackwell and Luke Armbruster had eight apiece. Jackson Stark led St. Andrews with 32 assists, while Jacob DeSouza had a team-high eight digs.
The Railsplitters return to action on Tuesday, February 21 when they host Campbellsville at 7 p.m.
