FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) racked up a career-high and program-record 17 kills, but it wasn't enough for the Railsplitters (3-7) to overcome Sacred Heart (7-1) in a 3-1 loss at the William H. Pitt Center on Sunday afternoon. Lincoln Memorial fell by scores of 14-25, 21-25, 25-20 and 19-25 to lose its second match against the Pioneers in as many days.
Less than 24 hours after being limited to a season-low 14 kills by these very same Pioneers, the Railsplitters settled into a groove and racked up 40 kills on a .185 attack percentage – the program's fourth-highest mark of the inaugural season. That wasn't enough to keep pace, though, as Sacred Heart accumulated 54 kills on a .239 clip to win its fourth straight match.
Riblett broke his own program record for kills - previously 16 established in the home win over Lees-McRae - by piling up 17 on a team-leading 39 attempts, good for a .205 mark.
Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) collected eight kills on a .316 hitting percentage to go along with a game-high six blocks.
Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) notched seven kills and matched a team-high mark with seven digs, while
Ryan Iskandar (Tempe, Ariz.) led the team with 31 digs while adding five kills and six digs.
Jorge Collazo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tied Cory for the team lead in digs with seven.
Nine different players finished with at least three kills for Sacred Heart. Bobby Costigan led the way with nine, while Christopher DeLucie had eight and Doug Dzema added seven. Michael Comens and Connor Mahony chipped in six kills apiece. Tyler Lee led all players with 35 digs, while Daniel Vasquez recorded a match-high nine digs.
The Railsplitters fell into a big hole right from the start of set one, as a kill from Taylor Bloomquist put Sacred Heart ahead 12-6. After a Pioneer attack error, SHU reeled off four straight points to assume a commanding 16-7 lead. Lincoln Memorial never trailed by less than seven points after that, while a Railsplitter attack error wrapped up the 25-14 win for the home team.
After a sluggish start, Lincoln Memorial came alive in the second set and raced out to a 17-11 lead. Eight of LMU's first 17 points were earned via the kill over that spurt. However, following a timeout, Sacred Heart reeled off a quick 10-1 run capped by back-to-back aces to take a 21-18 lead. The Railsplitters stopped the bleeding and pulled to within one on consecutive attack errors, but the Pioneers ended the set with a 4-1 flurry to stun Lincoln Memorial and take a 2-0 lead.
The Railsplitters led at the midway point again in the third set, pulling ahead 16-12 after an SHU attack miscue. However, the Pioneers dominated the next passage of play and tied the set at 18-18 on a kill by Chris Johnston. It was then LMU's turn to churn out a big run, as the Railsplitters won the next six rallies to take a 24-18 lead and force the Pioneers to call a timeout. Cory had two kills during that spurt, which essentially sealed the set.
Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) completed the 25-20 win with a kill.
Lincoln Memorial trailed by just one point early in the fourth frame, but an 8-0 Sacred Heart run buried the Railsplitters in a 20-11 hole. Riblett had three kills during a 4-0 run later in the set that trimmed the Pioneers' lead to 22-17, but that was as close as LMU would get in the 25-19 loss.
The Railsplitters next travel to Philippi, W.V. to face Alderson Broaddus on Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. Lincoln Memorial will be looking to sweep the regular-season series from the Battlers, who the Railsplitters beat in five sets on January 14 to notch the first win in program history.
