HARROGATE, Tenn. – The three-seeded Lady Railsplitters booked a spot in the South Atlantic Conference Championship semifinals with a 27-25, 25-13, 25-16 win over the six-seeded Queens Royals on Tuesday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium.
Lincoln Memorial (19-8) hit a scorching .333 and produced a 46-37 edge in kills to end Queens' (14-15) bid for its second straight SAC tournament title. The Lady Railsplitters, who close out Mars Gym with a sparking 13-2 record for the season, will face second-seeded Anderson in the SAC semifinals on Friday at 6:30 in Hartsville, S.C.
Rylee Storms was the catalyst for the Lady Railsplitters' efficient offensive night, compiling a match-high 15 kills on a sizzling .519 attack percentage.
Lindsey Nartker added 10 kills and nine digs, but the stat line of the night belonged to
Alicia Kessler, who produced nine kills on all nine of her swings to finish with a perfect 1.000 attack percentage.
Kai Wesemann chipped in eight kills on 21 swings.
Erica Whiteaker led all players with 28 digs to go with five assists and three aces, while
Emily Walter had a double-double with 25 assists and 14 digs.
Abby Higgins also had a hand in the outcome with 13 assists.
Logan Witt and Jordan Proszenyak paced Queens with nine kills apiece, while Chanel Turner had seven. Casey Tarvin and Lindsay Elmore had five kills apiece. Mallory Swarts led all players with 30 assists. Proszenyak led a group of three Queens players with double-digit digs with 16.
A crucial set-one win proved to be a momentum-swinging moment in the Lincoln Memorial sweep, as the Lady Railsplitters rallied from two different late deficits to earn a stunning 27-25 victory in set one.
Queens was in control early and racked up 11 kills to build a commanding 15-9 lead. However, Lincoln Memorial responded as kills from Wesemann and Storms sparked a 9-3 run that tied the set at 18-18. Following a timeout, Queens reeled off four straight points to reclaim a 22-18 advantage, but the Lady Railsplitters again answered, fighting back to tie the set at 23 apiece on a Royals attack error. Queens had two chances at set point after that with 24-23 and 25-24 leads, but a kill from Storms and an ace from Whiteaker ended a 3-0 closing run that gave the Lady Railsplitters the win.
After grinding one out in set one, Lincoln Memorial was dominant in set two, unleashing 15 kills on a .382 attack percentage to roll in a 25-13 win. Queens mounted only eight kills on a .049 clip thanks to the Lady Railsplitters' nine block assists. The Lady Railsplitters held a narrow 13-11 lead after an ace from Jones, but finished the set on a 12-2 run. Storms and Nartker led that spurt with three kills apiece.
Lincoln Memorial hit over .300 for the third time in set three, posting a .324 attack percentage to finish off the match with a 25-16 victory. The Lady Railsplitters nearly led from start to finish, racing out to a 7-3 lead after giving away the first point of the set. A 4-0 run later put LMU in command with a 13-6 lead and the Royals were never able to trim the deficit to less than four down the stretch. A kill from Storms ended a 6-1 final spurt for the Lady Railsplitters.
Quick Hits
- The Lady Railsplitters earned their third victory of the season against the Royals and improved to 10-7 in the all-time series. LMU also moved to 1-1 in postseason play against Queens.
- LMU had 7.5 blocks compared to only one for the Royals. Storms and
Danielle Ged led that effort with four apiece.
- The Lady Railsplitters' .333 attack percentage was their second-highest of the season behind only their .357 effort against Chowan on September 1.
Up Next
LMU aims to upset second-seeded Anderson and earn its second trip to the SAC title game in the past three seasons on Friday with a 6:30 semifinal matchup in Hartsville, S.C.
