BELMONT, N.C. – For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team fell in five sets on the road. This time, the Railsplitters (9-11) were outlasted by Belmont Abbey (10-14) by set scores of 20-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18 and 10-15.
Evan Cory (16) and
Joshua Riblett (14) combined for 30 of Lincoln Memorial's 46 kills. Belmont Abbey had four players post at least 11 kills led by Liam Maxwell's 22 and totaled 60 as a team. The Crusaders also held edges in hitting percentage (.237-.183), service aces (9-5) and digs (54-46) while the Railsplitters totaled more blocks (16-8.5).
Cory added 10 digs and seven block assists.
Pedro Carvalho led all players with 10 total blocks.
AJ Risavy had a career-high 14 digs and dished out 38 assists.
A 5-0 Belmont Abbey run in the opening set broke an 11-11 tie and put the Crusaders up for good. The Crusaders led by as much as six at 23-17 and went on to take the set 25-20. Maxwell tallied seven of Belmont Abbey's 13 kills. The Crusaders hit .333 while LMU had 10 at a .257 clip.
The Crusaders used a 9-2 run early in the second set to take a 14-7 lead. The Railsplitters were able to cut the deficit to 17-15, but Belmont Abbey finished the set on an 8-3 run to win 25-18. Brian Long recorded five of his 12 kills in the set. The Crusaders had their highest kill total of any set with 14 but hit just .182. The Railsplitters had nine kills and hit .125.
LMU avoided losing the match in straight sets by totaling 13 kills with a .375 mark to take the third set 25-21. The Railsplitters led by as much as seven at 20-13 before Belmont Abbey went on an 8-3 run to cut the score to 23-21. Kills by Riblett and Cory then sealed the set. Riblett led LMU with five kills in the set while Cory racked up four.
Riblett and Cory combined for eight of LMU's nine kills in the fourth set with four apiece as the Railsplitters again staved off defeat and took the set 25-18. Lincoln Memorial never trailed and jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The Crusaders cut the deficit to two at 11-9, but LMU expanded its lead back to seven late and finished on a 5-2 run. Belmont Abbey had 10 kills but committed eight attack errors and hit .067—its worst of any set.
Lincoln Memorial opened the fifth set up 5-4 but was outscored 11-6 the rest of the way as Belmont Abbey took the set 15-10 to claim the match. The Crusaders hit a scorching .625 with 11 kills compared to just one attack error. The Railsplitters posted a strong .400 hitting percentage but only tallied five kills.
LMU returns to Mary Mars for its final home match of the season Tuesday against Bluefield before finishing its regular season with four road matches.
