HARROGATE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial University's men's volleyball team evened its record with a 3-0 sweep over Queens (3-13) Wednesday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium. The Railsplitters (6-6) never trailed in two of the three sets as the team cruised to set wins of 25-12, 25-13 and 25-13.
Lincoln Memorial totaled its most kills in a three-set match this season with 37 and hit .468. Meanwhile, Queens racked up 20 kills and 22 attack errors for a -.030 hitting percentage. The Railsplitters also led in service aces (8-0), blocks (9-1) and digs (24-16).
Joshua Riblett led the way with 10 kills and a season-high .833 attack percentage.
Pedro Carvalho,
Evan Cory and
Jordan Walley contributed six kills apiece while
Marcus Molina added five and hit a perfect 1.000. Carvalho tied a program record with four service aces and took part in eight of the team's nine blocks with one solo.
AJ Risavy tied his own record for assists in a three-set match with 34.
The Railsplitters took control of the opening set on from the start with a 4-0 run and three separate 3-0 runs to build a 16-5 lead. Queens got as close as 19-11, but LMU responded with a 5-0 run and took seven of the final eight points to take the set 25-12. The Railsplitters racked up 16 kills and hit a blazing .700. Riblett led the way with five kills.
Queens used an early 3-0 run in the second set to take its only lead of the match at 4-2. Lincoln Memorial then responded with a 7-2 run to go ahead for good. The Royals closed the gap to 9-8, but the Railsplitters took 14 of the next 16 points to break the set open at 23-10. Molina finished the 25-13 set win off with a kill. LMU only hit .200 but totaled six blocks. The team was also aided by 11 Queens attack errors.
Set three began with the teams tied at 5-5 before LMU took 11 of the next 12 points—including a 9-0 run—to take a commanding 16-6 lead. Another 5-1 run increased the lead to 22-10. The Railsplitters took the final two points on Risavy's only kill of the match and a Walley service ace to repeat set two's 25-13 score and complete the straight-set sweep. LMU hit .500 with 13 kills with Riblett contributing five.
The Railsplitters next take a trip through Illinois to face Lewis on Friday, March 2 and Loyola the following night.
