HARROGATE, Tenn. – Ryan Santos tallied a match-high 16 kills and Eugene Stuart pitched in 10 more to help the Charleston Golden Eagles (8-10) snap a seven-game losing streak with a four-set win over the Railsplitters (8-13) on Friday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium. In the first of two weekend matches between the two squads, Lincoln Memorial fell by scores of 25-18, 25-18, 23-25 and 25-18.
The Railsplitters finished with 37 kills on a respectable .206 attack percentage, but Charleston racked up 48 kills on a .259 clip to go along with 13 service aces to hand Lincoln Memorial just its third home loss of the season.
Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) led the Railsplitters with 15 kills on a .273 hitting percentage to go along with six digs.
Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had eight kills on just 15 attempts for a .400 attack percentage while also providing a team-high three blocks.
NyJaee Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) and
Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) contributed five kills apiece, while Cory also added six digs.
Ryan Iskandar (Tempe, Ariz.) posted 32 assists and six digs, while
Jorge Collazo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) led the way with seven digs.
In addition to the 26 combined kills from Santos and Stuart, Donovan Wilmott notched eight kills, Byron Hurd had seven and Anthony Rivera chipped in five for the Golden Eagles. Rivera paired those five kills with a match-high 38 assists and eight digs. Hurd led all players with 11 digs and was one of four Charleston players with at least six scoops in the contest.
The Golden Eagles racked up 13 kills on a scalding-hot .458 attack percentage in the opening set to control it from start to finish. A Stuart service ace made it 11-8 in favor of the visitors, but the Railsplitters pulled within one point three times over the next passage of play. Lincoln Memorial couldn't quite get over the hump during that stretch, while a 5-1 run put Charleston in front 20-15. The Railsplitters never trailed by less than four after that, as Wilmott clinched the set for the Golden Eagles with a kill.
The Railsplitters raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set following three straight Charleston attack errors, and maintained a one-point edge at 12-11 later in the frame. However, the Golden Eagles swung the momentum with a 6-1 spurt, taking a 17-13 lead on a kill from Santos. Lincoln Memorial closed the gap to three points two different times after that, but a late 4-0 run buried the home team in a 24-16 hole. An attack error clinched the 25-18 win for Charleston.
Lincoln Memorial found itself facing a 13-8 deficit midway through the third set, but a 5-2 flurry brought the Railsplitters within two at 15-13. The two teams traded points one after the other over the next 13 rallies to take Charleston into the closing stretch with a 22-19 lead. However, a Riblett kill, a Golden Eagles attack error and an ace from Iskandar tied up the set. After a kill from Stuart briefly put Charleston back in the lead, the Railsplitters won the next three rallies to extend the match for one more set.
The Railsplitters held a short-lived 7-5 lead in the fourth frame before the Golden Eagles steadily pulled away from that point on. A 9-3 run capped by a Stuart kill gave the Golden Eagles a 14-11 lead. LMU won two of the next three rallies, but Charleston followed that up with a 7-2 flurry to take a commanding 22-15 lead. The Railsplitters never trailed by less than five points after that.
Lincoln Memorial will get another chance against Charleston on Saturday at 1 p.m. when the two teams collide once more at Mary Mars Gymnasium.
