HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (3-0) wrapped up the season-opening LMU Volleyball Tournament with a straight-set win over the Erskine Flying Fleet (0-3) on Saturday afternoon at Mary Mars Gymnasium. Lincoln Memorial finished off the unbeaten weekend by scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 25-23.
Despite the one-sided final score, the Lady Railsplitters struggled to shake off the young Fleet, who finished as the tournament's only winless entrant. Lincoln Memorial had nine service errors, added five reception errors and was also edged in digs, 51-46. Despite that, the Lady Railsplitters beat Erskine for the third season in a row and improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2010.
Kiera Holland, who picked up her 1,000th career kill in last night's win over King, paced the Lady Railsplitters with 11 kills on a .409 attack percentage to go along with six digs, while
Rylee Storms had 10 kills, eight digs and a pair of blocks.
Danielle Ged produced her second consecutive error-free match, tallying seven kills on a sizzling .467 mark.
Lindsey Nartker chipped in five kills.
Samantha Cash led all players with 32 assists.
Junior libero
Erica Whiteaker accounted for a team-high 12 digs to become the 14th player in program history to surpass the 1,000-dig mark. Her 1,001 career scoops sit 807 away from tying Casey Mense for the program's all-time record.
Reilly Bartlett was the only Erskine player to finish with double-digit kills in the match, racking up 10 on 24 attempts. Kirsten Kaiser added six, while no other Fleet player had more than five kills. All told, Erskine finished with 33 kills and 24 attack errors to narrowly hit positive for the match (.083).
The first set was far and away the most competitive of the match, as it featured 11 ties and seven lead changes. The Fleet held the early edge with a 7-5 lead, and continued to lead by two after a setting error gave the visitors a 13-11 advantage. The Lady Railsplitters used a 4-0 spurt to take a 19-16 lead, but Erskine fought back to tie the match at 20-20 on an ace. However, the Lady Railsplitters put the set to bed with a 5-2 closing run capped by a block by Ged and Storms.
The Lady Railsplitters settled into a groove in the second frame and used an 11-2 onslaught to build a commanding 21-9 cushion. Ged and Storms powered that spurt with two kills apiece. Erskine trimmed a bit off the deficit late, but back-to-back miscues by the Fleet clinched the Lady Railsplitters' 25-13 win. LMU hit a match-best .312 in that frame while allowing just eight kills on a .000 attack percentage.
The third set went back and forth early until the Fleet used a short burst to take a 14-11 lead. The Lady Railsplitters once again asserted control with a one-sided run, winning 10 of the next 13 rallies to build a 21-17 lead, a stretch that was fueled by four kills by Holland. Erskine clapped back and tied the set at 22-22 on a kill from Jauhna Smith, but the Lady Railsplitters won three of the next four points to tidy up the sweep. Storms ended the match with her 10th kill of the afternoon.
The Lady Railsplitters will get a short break before opening South Atlantic Conference play at Mars Hill on Thursday, September 7. First serve in that contest is set for 7 p.m. in Mars Hill, N.C.
