MARS HILL, N.C. – A career-high 18 kills from Rylee Storms was not enough for the Lady Railsplitters in a 3-1 South Atlantic Conference loss at Mars Hill on Friday night. 
 
Lincoln Memorial (8-4, 4-2 SAC) fell by scores of 26-28, 25-19, 23-25 and 22-25 to suffer its first loss to the Lions (11-4, 5-2 SAC) since 2013, ending a streak of eight consecutive wins in the series. Mars Hill also matched its season-high mark with its fourth straight win to move into a tie for third in the SAC standings. 
 
Storms was magnificent in leading the Lady Railsplitter attack, racking up a career-best 18 kills on just 45 attempts to finish with a .356 attack percentage. She also posted a new career-high effort with 20 digs. However, the rest of the team combined for 30 kills and 23 attack errors. 
 
Lindsey Nartker had 12 kills, while Alicia Kessler was also efficient with 10 kills on 20 swings, good for a .400 hitting percentage. Kai Wesemann and Danielle Ged added seven kills apiece, while Tone Gill had three. Emily Walter fell one short of matching her career-high mark with 49 assists to go with 18 digs, while Erica Whiteaker led all players with 40 digs.  
 
Maddie Spurgeon and Elizabeth Kaeser carried the Mars Hill attack with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Sarah Goddard chipped in 10, while Sally Anne Johnson had nine. Abby King and Sara Pasour combined for 51 assists, while Ully Martins led a group of five Lions with double-digit digs with 29. 
 
Mars Hill finished with an edge in both hitting percentage (.207-.158) and kills (62-58). 
 
Despite that, the Lady Railsplitters had a late lead in every set. Lincoln Memorial led 23-20 in set one, 23-21 in set three and 18-16 in set four, but let each of those advantages go to waste. 
 
Storms racked up seven kills without an error and the Lady Railsplitters led by as many as six, but the Lions rallied late to steal the win in a wild opening set. Holding a slim 9-8 lead, Lincoln Memorial scored five unanswered points behind two kills by Storms to take a commanding 14-8 lead. Another kill from Storms gave LMU a late 23-20 lead, but Mars Hill rattled off a 4-0 flurry after that to take its first lead since 3-2. The Lady Railsplitters fought off set point twice and eventually took a 26-25 lead on a kill from Gill, but two attack errors and a kill by Kaeser closed out Mars Hill's stunning 28-26 come-from-behind victory. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters quickly put that late letdown in the rearview mirror in set two, when they hit .273 to draw the match back even. The two teams went back and forth early in the frame until Lincoln Memorial got some separation with a 15-10 lead earned on back-to-back kills by Storms. The Lady Railsplitters continued to push from there, increasing their lead to 21-13 on a Mars Hill miscue. The Lions made things interesting late by winning six of the next seven rallies to force an LMU timeout, but a kill from Wesemann and two more errors helped the Lady Railsplitters complete the 25-19 win.  
 
Lincoln Memorial allowed another late lead to slip away as the back-and-forth trend continued in set three. A kill from Storms and two more from Kessler pushed the Lady Railsplitters ahead 19-14, and they later extended their lead to 21-16 on an ace by Nartker. However, the Lions used two kills and two aces to tie the set at 21 apiece. Lincoln Memorial reasserted control thanks to a ball-handling error and a Kessler ace, but Mars Hill rallied yet again with a 4-0 closing run capped by back-to-back blocks. The Lady Railsplitters hit just .059 and committed 10 attack errors in the set. 
 
Mars Hill produced its best offensive set of the match to close things out in the fourth frame, connecting on 19 kills with a .267 attack percentage. Despite the Lions' offensive numbers, the Lady Railsplitters was in control for most of the set and held a late 18-16 cushion, but Mars Hill rattled off a 7-1 run powered by three kills from Spurgeon to take the lead once and for all. Spurgeon and Johnson then capped the 25-22 clincher with kills. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters will look to bounce back on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they pay the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears a visit. L-R captured its fourth straight win on Friday with a 3-0 sweep over Tusculum.