HARTSVILLE, S.C. –The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team completed the season sweep of Coker (12-9) with a straight-set victory Friday night at the DeLoach Center. The Railsplitters (12-12) cruised to set scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-18 to pick up their program-record third road victory.
LMU only led in kills 37-36 but hit .370 while the Cobras only had a .126 mark. Coker committed 24 attack errors to LMU's seven. The Railsplitters also had the advantage in blocks (10-1) and service aces (5-1) while Coker led in digs (34-29).
Pedro Carvalho tied a season high with 11 kills and hit a blazing .846 with zero attack errors. The finalist for Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month for March added five blocks and two service aces.
Evan Cory also did not commit an attack error and racked up 10 kills at a .476 clip. He also pitched in two service aces and four blocks.
AJ Risavy racked up a match-high 31 assists.
Gabriel Castro and Joao Victor Santos each had 12 kills for Coker but combined to hit just .119 with 17 attack errors. Gary Baker led all players with 12 digs.
Lincoln Memorial used an 11-2 run in the opening set to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 19-12 lead. The Cobras took the next five points to cut the score to 19-17, but LMU held on to take the set 25-22. The Railsplitters led 15-14 in kills and hit .314 to Coker's .250. Castro and Santos totaled six kills apiece while Carvalho had five.
The Railsplitters opened set two trailing 10-9 before a 9-2 run put the team ahead 19-12. The team also finished the set on a 6-1 run to take the set 25-16 and for a commanding 2-0 lead. LMU had nine kills at a .333 mark while Coker had eight kills but hit -.129 thanks to 12 attack errors. Cory had five kills and assisted in two of LMU's four blocks.
Lincoln Memorial broke a 6-6 tie in the third set with a 4-0 run to go ahead for good. The Cobras cut the deficit to one point at 16-15, but LMU closed on a 9-3 run to take the set 25-18 to win the match. Coker led 14-13 in kills but hit .250 with six attack errors. Meanwhile, the Railsplitters hit .480 with only one attack error. Castro added five more kills for Coker while Carvalho,
Marcus Molina and
Jordan Walley hat three apiece for LMU.
The Railsplitters conclude their regular season Thursday night at King.
