HARROGATE, Tenn. — The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team couldn't have asked for a better season-opening weekend.
 
LMU capped off the three-game homestand with the Railsplitters' second sweep in a 3-0 win, 25-22, 25-20, 26-24, over Mount Olive inside Mary Mars Gym Sunday afternoon.
 
Junior Evan Cory led the Railsplitters (3-0) with 17 kills, a .464 hitting percentage and 20.5 points, while Jordan Walley had seven kills and a match-high four service aces. Transfer Danny Hermida matched Walley's seven kills, and freshman Dawson Walker continued to impress with six kills and two blocks. Setter AJ Risavy added 27 assists and paired up with Walker in the match-winning block in set three.
 
For the Trojans (0-4), Tobi Azeez smacked down 16 kills and a game-high .522 hitting percentage, while Shane Yeo passed across 24 assists and Luke Visgitis had seven blocks.
 
It was a back-and-forth set one until the last point was solidified via a Hermida kill. After the Trojans knotted the score at 9-all, the Railsplitters rattled off an 8-1 run to take a comfortable seven-point lead. But, Mount Olive didn't lie down that easily, scoring eight of the next 10 points to make it a two-point set, 23-21. The Railsplitters then scored two out of the next three points to take set one.
 
The game of runs didn't slow down in set two. LMU took a 6-1 run, forcing a Mount Olive timeout up 12-9 early. The Trojans responded with three straight points out of the break to knot the set as they did once more before the Railsplitters took the lead for good. It was three consecutive points— a Trojan service error followed by Cory kill and service ace — which propelled the Railsplitters to two straight set wins and a 2-0 lead.
 
LMU finished the match in set three, but it took an extra point to secure the bag. Back-to-back Walley points — a kill followed by a service ace — knotted the score at 21-all, and then the two squads swapped points to put it at a 24-24 tie. Out of a LMU timeout, Hermida laid down a kill followed by the Walker-Risavy block which gave the Railsplitters a perfect first weekend.
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters travel to Nashville for three matches with the first versus Southern California at 9 p.m. Friday, Limestone at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Grand Canyon 1:30 p.m. Sunday.