HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team (1-2) picked up its first win of the season and
John Cash era with a spirited straight-set sweep of Alderson Broaddus (0-4) Friday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium. The Railsplitters never trailed by more than one point during any set and cruised to set wins of 25-13, 25-21 and 25-13.
LMU set season highs across the board and hit a scorching .409—a program record at Mary Mars Gymnasium—while totaling 37 kills. The team's 36 assists also set a program record for a three-set match. The Railsplitters totaled seven service aces and blocks after entering the match with just one ace through two games and nearly doubled their season block total after entering with just eight.
Joshua Riblett led the LMU attack with 12 kills on a career-best .556 attack percentage.
Evan Cory pitched in 10 kills and also set a career high by hitting .500. Additionally, the sophomore led the Railsplitters with six digs and three service aces.
AJ Risavy dished out 34 assists, which set an individual program record for assists in a three-set match.
Pedro Carvalho totaled four blocks and added seven kills.
Alderson Broaddus struggled to the tune of a -.016 attack percentage and totaled just 17 kills. Francisco Cabrera led with six and was one of just two Battlers to record a positive attack percentage at .267. Myles Miller was the other at .077 and pitched in five kills. All other Battlers accounted for six kills and 12 errors.
Alderson Broaddus took an early 3-2 lead in the first set courtesy of two LMU attack errors and a service error but never led again as the Railsplitters responded with a 10-3 run to force a timeout. The Battlers took the next two points coming out of the break, but Lincoln Memorial ripped off six straight to take a commanding 10-point advantage. The Railsplitters also ended the set on a 5-0 run. LMU hit a scorching .579, while Alderson Broaddus posted its lowest percentage of the night at -.125. Riblett, Cory and
Marcus Molina combined for 10 of the team's 13 kills.
Alderson Broaddus again took a 3-2 lead in the second set but never led again as the Railsplitters scored six of the next seven points. LMU never went on another major run in the set but built its lead to as much as eight at 21-13. From there, the Battlers went on an 8-3 run to pull back within three points, but
AJ Risavy hit home his only kill of the night to seal the set win. Alderson Broaddus posted its strongest set of the night with eight kills and a .130 attack percentage but was still outdone by LMU's .214 and 12 kills.
The Railsplitters never trailed in the third set and quickly built a 13-6 lead, which forced Alderson Broaddus to call both of its timeouts. The Battlers took the next two points, but that failed to stop the bleeding, as LMU responded with a 10-2 run to build a 13-point advantage. Riblett sealed the Railsplitters' first win of the season five plays later with his final kill. Lincoln Memorial again dominated with a .526 attack percentage and five service aces—including three straight by Cory at one point— while the Battlers hit -.062. Cory, Riblett and Carvalho totaled four kills apiece in the set.
The Railsplitters won't have too long to celebrate, as the team returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. against Belmont Abbey back at Mary Mars Gymnasium.
