HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (6-4, 3-4 SAC) couldn't slow down the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (7-2, 4-0 SAC) in a 3-1 loss in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon at Mary Mars Gym. Lincoln Memorial suffered its first home loss of the season while Lenoir-Rhyne extended its winning streak to six by scores of 23-25, 25-18, 25-23 and 25-18.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne was led to victory by a dominant offensive performance, as the Bears piled up 60 kills and made just 17 errors in the match. The visitors were even better down the closing stretch, hitting .351 and .344 in the final two sets, respectively.
 
The Lady Railsplitters had a decent day offensively, hitting .182 with 52 kills and 22 errors. Like Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial was also better late in the match with 25 kills and just six total errors in the final two frames.
 
Senior Kiera Holland turned in a masterful performance with 17 kills on a .250 clip to go along with 11 digs. Rylee Storms added nine kills and three blocks, while Lindsey Nartker sparked the Lady Railsplitters off the bench with seven kills on a .333 mark. Tone Gill chipped in six kills and a team-high five blocks.
 
Samantha Cash dished out 24 assists and recorded six digs, while Olivia Brock aided that effort with a career-high 23 assists and five digs. Erica Whiteaker made a team-best 26 digs.
 
A quartet of players – Brooke Redmond, Emily Steele, Hannah Houston and Taylor Prall - finished with double-digit kills for Lenoir-Rhyne. That group collectively combined for 49 of the team's 60 kills and made just 11 errors. Redmond led the way with 14 kills and eight digs, while Steele had 13. Houston posted a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, while Prall also had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 scoops.
 
Ashley Markland led the team with 18 digs, while Anna Smith (31) and Jessica Funk (24) combined for all 55 of the team's assists.
 
The Lady Railsplitters maintained control throughout most of the first set, but had to withstand a couple of runs to hand the Bears their first set loss in SAC play this season. Lincoln Memorial pulled out to a 14-9 lead on the back of five kills from Holland. However, the Bears used a 6-1 run later in the set to cut the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 17-16. Lincoln Memorial controlled the next stretch of play, regaining a firm foothold with a 23-19 lead on a kill from Kai Wesemann. Lenoir-Rhyne answered once again, bringing the set back level at 23-23 on three straight kills by Hannah Houston. The Lady Railsplitters ultimately prevailed, though, as a L-R service error and attack error ended the 25-23 barnburner.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne answered in the second set, taking advantage of nine LMU attack errors and four service errors to draw the match even. The Bears raced out to 12-6 lead and never really relinquished control from that point on. The Lady Railsplitters used kills from Alicia Kessler and Gill to cut the deficit to 18-15, but L-R won three of the next four rallies to all but ice the set. Two kills from Brooke Redmond wrapped up the Bears' 25-18 victory.
 
The third set was the most competitive of the match with 16 ties and six lead changes, while neither team led by more than three points throughout the entire frame. It was a complete toss-up late in the set with things tied at 23-23, but Steele and Prall clinched the hard-fought 25-23 win for Lenoir-Rhyne with back-to-back kills.
 
After trailing throughout the early portion of the fourth set, the Lady Railsplitters won four consecutive rallies to take a 14-13 lead on back-to-back kills by Nartker. However, the Bears won the next three points to regain a lead they would not relinquish. A kill by Madison Asher and a ball-handling error gave L-R a 20-17 lead during a later sequence. The Bears eventually ended the set and the match on a 5-0 scoring run.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Friday, September 29 when they step away briefly from South Atlantic Conference play to host Francis Marion at 7 p.m. inside of Mary Mars Gym.