QUINCY, Ill. – Playing its first true road match of the season, Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team took a two-set lead over Quincy (7-3) but ultimately fell in five sets by scores of 28-26, 25-19, 16-25, 20-25 and 13-15. The match was the first time in the season the Railsplitters (3-4) saw a match extend beyond three sets.
Kills were nearly even with LMU holding a slight 51-50 edge, but the Railsplitters hit just .168 with 29 attack errors. In contrast, Quincy had a .228 attack percentage and only made 19 attack errors. The Hawks committed nine more service errors (22-13) but also led in service aces 8-3 and total blocks 14-8.
Evan Cory tallied a season-high 17 kills and made a career-high 13 digs.
Marcus Molina added a season-high nine kills.
Jordan Walley had a career high with eight kills but also committed 10 attacking errors.
AJ Risavy and
Logan Kerley also posted career highs with 40 assists and 14 digs, respectively.
Four Hawks posted double-digit kill totals led by Anthony Winter's 14. Shane McAdams added 13, while Omari Wheeler pitched in 11 and Zach Reider 10. The quartet combined to hit .352 with McAdams, Wheeler and Reider all above .435.
Despite winning set one, LMU never led until 27-26. Quincy took five of the first seven points of the match and led by four on multiple occasions with the last being at 20-16. The Railsplitters still had their backs to the wall trailing 23-20 and later 24-22 but came back to tie the score at 24 apiece. Cory had five kills, including four during the team's comeback from 20-16. Winter also had five kills for Quincy. The Railsplitters hit .400 but went on to not hit above .200 in any other set.
The Railsplitters had an easier going in the second set and never trailed after Quincy took the first point. The teams were tied at 12 before LMU took the next three points to pull ahead for good. LMU never went on a huge run but outscored the Hawks 13-7 the rest of the way. The team was aided by Quincy's -.040 attack percentage.
Lincoln Memorial hit a paltry -.143 for the third set with a whopping 12 errors. The team had trouble stringing points together except for a 4-0 run early in the set that tied the score at seven. The score was tied again at eight, but from that point, Quincy outscored the Railsplitters 17-8.
The Hawks led for almost the entirety of the fourth set but couldn't pull away until late. The score was tied on 14 occasions, but the Railsplitters' last lead was at 11-10. A 7-2 Quincy run to end the set proved to be the difference. Winter and Reider had five kills apiece, while the Hawks racked up total 17 kills.
Lincoln Memorial led at the midway point of the fifth and deciding set 8-5. Quincy then reeled off an 8-0 run to take the lead. The Railsplitters took five of the next six points to pull back within one at 14-13, but the Hawks took the next point to conclude the match.
The Railsplitters continue their road trip with a match at Lindenwood at 5 p.m. Saturday.
