TIGERVILLE, S.C. – Lincoln Memorial University's men's volleyball team (5-6) returned from an eight-day layoff to lose in straight sets (16-25, 19-25, 21-25) at North Greenville (7-8) Saturday evening at Hayes Gymnasium.
The Crusaders led for nearly the entirety of the match and led 32-24 in kills with a .362-.119 edge in attack percentage. North Greenville also committed six fewer attack errors (17-11) and recorded eight service aces to LMU's two. The Crusaders didn't hit below .263 in any set while the Railsplitters never hit above .200.
Lincoln Memorial had no answer for Matthew McManaway, who notched 10 kills and a .643 hitting percentage with three service aces and five total blocks. Aaron Campbell added seven kills on a .417 clip with five total blocks and two service aces. Jake Boldog tallied a game-high 25 assists and tied teammate Jackson Gilbert for the most digs (3).
Evan Cory once again led the Railsplitters in kills with eight but had his second-lowest attack percentage of the season (.100) thanks to six errors.
Marcus Molina added five kills while
NyJaee Washington pitched in four.
AJ Risavy was one off his season low with 19 assists.
Pedro Carvalho compiled five total blocks.
North Greenville took the first three points of the match and never trailed in the first set as the Crusaders hit .556. After falling into a 15-8 hole, LMU took five of the next six points to cut the deficit to three at 16-13. However, North Greenville responded with four straight points on three kills and a service ace to take a commanding 20-13 lead. The Railsplitters got as close as 21-16, but the Crusaders finished the set on another 4-0 run. North Greenville had five service aces in the set.
North Greenville again never trailed in the second set and built a 12-7 lead on three McManaway kills. The Railsplitters stormed back to tie the set at 13, but the Crusaders took the next four points on a service error and three attack errors. LMU battled back to 20-18, though North Greenville took five of the final six points to clinch the set. The Railsplitters led 11-9 in kills, led by Cory's five, but committed nine attacking errors and hit .065 to North Greenville's .263.
Lincoln Memorial had its only lead of the match at 1-0 in the third set before North Greenville took four of the next five points. The two teams were tied at five, six and seven before the Crusaders went on a 6-2 run to go up for good. LMU hung around but never got closer than 20-18. McManaway finished off the match with his fourth kill of the set. The Crusaders had a 12-6 edge in kills.
The Railsplitters have another full week off before facing Queens at Mary Mars Gymnasium next Saturday night at 8 p.m.
