Box Score HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Joshua Riblett and
Evan Cory combined for 27 kills, but it wasn't enough as the Railsplitters (10-16) suffered a 3-1 loss to the Coker Cobras (13-9) in the first game of the IVA Tournament on Friday evening at the DeLoach Center.
Offensively, the two teams were near equals, as Lincoln Memorial had 46 kills and 22 errors (.198 attack percentage) while the Cobras produced 50 kills with 25 errors (.194). However, the match was decided at the service line, as the Railsplitters had just six aces with 20 errors compared to 10 aces and 14 miscues for Coker.
Riblett tied a match-high mark with 15 kills on a .265 attack percentage to go along with five digs. Cory finished with 12 kills, six digs, two blocks and two aces.
Marcus Molina contributed eight kills and six total blocks, while
Pedro Carvalho added seven kills with eight blocks and a .333 attack percentage.
Ryan Iskandar paced LMU with 40 assists while adding eight digs.
Jorge Collazo led all players in the contest with 15 digs.
Artur Cabral matched Riblett with 15 kills to lead the Cobra attack while chipping in four aces, two digs and two blocks. Luca Berger notched 12 kills on just 21 attempts for a .524 attack percentage and also put up seven solo blocks. Colton Parsons logged 11 kills with seven digs, while Devion Whetstone logged seven kills on only 11 attempts. Stephen Porras led the Cobras with 43 assists and 14 digs.
A kill by Riblett knotted the opening set at 12-12, but a 6-1 run capped by Gabriel Castro's service ace gave the Cobras an 18-13 lead. A kill from Molina cut the deficit to 19-15 before Coker reeled off five unanswered points to force match point with a nine-point cushion. The Railsplitters nearly rallied all the way back, riding a 7-0 run to close the gap to 24-22. However, an attack error ended the 7-0 run and clinched the 25-22 win for the Cobras.
A 5-0 flurry gave the Cobras the early edge in the second set, and the home team was able to extend that advantage to 13-7 later in the frame on an ace from Luca Berger. A pair of service miscues helped the Railsplitters make it 14-9, but a 5-1 spurt gave Coker a commanding 19-10 lead. Much like the previous set, Lincoln Memorial rallied, closing the gap to 21-17 on
Nico Triana's ace. Yet Coker once again had the answer and ended the set with a 4-0 spurt to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Railsplitters were in control in the third set, as a kill and ace by Riblett put Lincoln Memorial up 19-14. Back-to-back Coker attack errors helped LMU take a 21-15 lead into the final stretch. Another error gave the Railsplitters a 24-21 lead, but the Cobras staved off set point three times to tie the frame 24-24. The marathon set went back and forth from that point on, with the Railsplitters overcoming match point five times and ending it on a 3-0 run to extend the match with a 33-31 victory. Riblett recorded three straight kills to complete that dramatic victory.
Unfortunately, Lincoln Memorial was unable to carry that momentum into the fourth frame, as the Cobras jumped out to an 18-11 lead. A 9-3 run helped the Railsplitters cut the deficit to one, but Lincoln Memorial could never quite get over the hump, as the Cobras finished the frame with a 4-1 flurry to win the match.
The Railsplitters face Alderson Broaddus at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Hartsville with a chance to earn a spot in the IVA Tournament championship match, which will be played at 3 p.m. at the DeLoach Center.
