HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Campbellsville Tigers (6-10) in five sets on Tuesday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium. The Railsplitters (5-9) notched their second consecutive win and improved to 4-1 at home by scores of 25-19, 16-25, 20-25, 25-23 and 15-11.
 
In a battle between two first-year programs, the Railsplitters racked up 55 kills on a .252 attack percentage while holding the Tigers to just 40 kills on a .162 clip. Lincoln Memorial hit .571 in the first set, .231 in the fourth and .368 in the clincher.
 
Outside hitter Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) matched his program-record mark with 18 kills to go along with seven digs, while right side Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) logged 13 kills on a .320 effort with six blocks and five digs. Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had 11 kills on only 19 attempts for a sizzling .421 mark, while Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) posted eight kills for the second consecutive match.
 
Ryan Iskandar (Tempe, Ariz.) accounted for a program-record 46 assists and led the Railsplitters with four aces, while Jorge Collazo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) contributed a team-leading 12 digs.
 
The Railsplitters were able to win in spite of committing a season-high 31 service errors.
 
Lincoln Memorial trailed 6-5 in the opening set, but used an 8-2 run to assume a 13-8 lead on an ace by Molina. The Tigers scored three straight points later in the frame to close the gap to 16-14, but the Railsplitters won the next five rallies to make it a 21-14 game. LMU never led by less than five after that, while a kill from Cory wrapped up the 25-19 win.
 
Campbellsville jumped all over the Railsplitters in the second set, racing out to an 11-3 lead. The Tigers' lead reached 11 at 19-8 on a Bryce Johnson ace. Lincoln Memorial whittled the lead down to 19-12 with four unanswered points, but that was as close as it would get. An LMU service error clinched Campbellsville's 25-16 win. The Railsplitters hit just .067 in the frame with eight errors.
 
The Tigers led from start to finish in the third set, but the Railsplitters made life difficult for the visitors. With Campbellsville leading 15-10, Lincoln Memorial scored four straight points to pull within one on back-to-back attack errors. However, the Tigers won six of the next nine rallies to pull back ahead 21-17. The Railsplitters later closed the gap to 22-20, but Campbellsville ended the set on a 3-0 run to win it 25-20.
 
The Railsplitters used an early run to take a 7-3 lead in the fourth set, and they extended the lead to 12-7 on a Campbellsville attack error. The Tigers controlled the next passage of play and eventually drew the set even at 18-18 on a kill by Johnson. The set was tied twice after that until the Railsplitters took the lead for good on back-to-back attack errors. With a narrow 24-23 lead, Campbellsville committed a service error that sent the match to a decisive fifth frame.
 
The Tigers won the first four rallies of the fifth set and led 6-3 following a kill by Adam Conklin. But the Railsplitters used a pair of aces by Iskandar to power a 4-0 run that gave them a 10-9 lead. The Tigers tied the set twice after that, but LMU ended the match on another 4-0 run. Cory, Riblett and NyJaee Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) had kills over that closing stretch.
 
Rafael Cruz led the Tigers with 15 kills and 10 digs, while Johnson had 11 kills on a .261 attack percentage. Philip Turia led Campbellsville with 28 assists.
 
The Railsplitters are back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m., when they host Emmanuel at Mary Mars Gymnasium.