FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Railsplitters (3-6) were held to a season-low 14 kills in a straight-set loss to Sacred Heart (6-1) on Saturday night in Fairfield, Conn. Lincoln Memorial fell by scores of 25-15, 25-20 and 25-9 to see its two-game winning streak snapped, but will get another shot at the Pioneers on Sunday when the two teams complete their weekend doubleheader at 1 p.m.
In their first taste of Division I competition, the Railsplitters were overwhelmed by Sacred Heart, who hit .282 as a team and nearly tripled LMU's kill output with 38 to pick up its sixth 3-0 win of the season. If not for the second set, when the Pioneers had 14 kills and 10 errors for a .129 clip, SHU would have had a much higher attack percentage. They hit .375 in the first set and .391 in the third.
On the other end of the spectrum, Lincoln Memorial hit negative in two of the match's three sets and finished with a .000 hitting percentage – 14 kills and 14 errors. That was far and away the lowest offensive output of the season for the Railsplitters, surpassing their 21 in the loss at Wittenberg.
Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) paced the Railsplitters with six kills and six digs, while
Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) had four kills.
NyJaee Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) had two kills.
Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) was the only LMU player to finish with a positive attack percentage, but he had just one kill on three attempts.
Emerson Waumans nearly surpassed LMU's offensive output by himself, notching 12 kills on a .381 attack percentage. Christopher DeLucie tallied nine, while Taylor Bloomquist recorded seven kills on a sizzling .545 attack percentage. Noah Ricchetti led all players with 27 assists, while Joshua Ayzenberg posted a game-high 13 digs.
The Railsplitters were right with the Pioneers early in the first set, cutting the deficit to 9-8 on a kill by Molina. However, Sacred Heart went on a 10-2 run over the next passage to race ahead 19-10. LMU would never trail by less than six points in the set, while SHU ended it on a 4-0 run.
A 5-2 run aided by four SHU attack errors put the Railsplitters in position to win the second set with a 19-16 lead. But the Pioneers used a 7-0 flurry comprised of three LMU miscues and four kills to take a 23-19 lead. The Railsplitters briefly halted that run with a kill by Cory, but kills from DeLucie and Bloomquist capped SHU's 25-20 come-from-behind victory.
The Railsplitters couldn't recover from that second-set letdown as the Pioneers raced out to a 13-4 lead in the third and final frame. It only got worse from there as Sacred Heart compiled 11 kills on a .391 clip to clinch the match with a 25-9 triumph.
Lincoln Memorial and Sacred Heart play again at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
