BRISTOL, Tenn. –The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team concluded its regular season at King by falling in straight sets (19-25, 24-26, 20-25) Tuesday night at the Student Center Complex.
The Tornado led 46-38 in kills and hit .307 to LMU's .198. King also held a 47-34 edge in digs and had the only service ace of the match. The Railsplitters had more blocks at 4-2.
King (20-5) won its ninth straight overall and finished the regular season a perfect 11-0 at home. The Railsplitters (12-13) remain winless against the Tornado all-time after being swept in the season series for the second straight year.
LMU again had no answer for Jeff Sprayberry, who racked with 15 kills and a .314 attack percentage, after totaling 14 and hitting .458 in the first meeting in January. Kiel Bell added 10 kills and 12 digs but committed seven of the team's 15 attack errors and hit just .103. Dalton Johnson pitched in eight kills at a .615 clip and did not commit an attack error. Nick Drooker accumulated a match-high 42 assists.
Evan Cory led the Railsplitters with 13 kills while
Jordan Walley totaled a career-high 10.
Pedro Carvalho hit .462 with eight kills and added a pair of blocks.
AJ Risavy collected 29 assists while
Logan Kerley had 11 digs.
King never trailed in the opening set and took a 13-8 lead out of the gate to force an LMU timeout. The Tornado then took four of the next six points to go up 17-10 and force another timeout. A 7-3 Railsplitter run cut the score to 22-19 before King took the final three points to win the set 25-19. The Tornado led 15-10 in kills and hit .278 while Lincoln Memorial only mustered a .083 mark. Sprayberry led all players with seven kills.
The Tornado took a 14-9 lead to open set two, but a 9-2 LMU run put the Railsplitters up 18-16. King took five straight points to retake the lead at 22-19. The Tornado played for match point at 24-22, but a Cory kill and Sprayberry attack error again tied the score. Sprayberry notched a kill to break the tie, and an LMU ball handling error gave King a 26-24 set win. The Tornado again led in kills at 16-13, but the Railsplitters hit better (.303-.257). Cory, Walley, Sprayberry and Bell recorded five kills apiece.
Lincoln Memorial took a 17-16 lead in a back-and-forth opening to the third set, but the Tornado finished on a 9-3 run to claim the set 25-20 and complete the straight set sweep. Kills were even at 15 apiece, but King had its most efficient set with a .400 hitting percentage. Cory notched a set-high six kills.
The Railsplitters conclude their season in Phillip, W.V. over the weekend at the IVA Tournament. Lincoln Memorial earned the top seed and will face Queens on Friday afternoon.
