LEBANON, Tenn. — What an effort.
The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team battled back down 0-2 to No. 15-ranked Grand Canyon University, tying up the Railsplitters' final match at Off the Block's Grow the Game Challenge before eventually falling 3-2, 18-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-18, 10-15, on Cumberland University's campus Sunday afternoon.
LMU (4-2) was led by
Evan Cory and
Danny Hermida's 13 kills apiece while
Pedro Carvalho had nine kills, 16 points and a match-high seven blocks. Cory also had a team-high 16.5 points, and Matt Brindenbaugh was in a three-way tie for a match-high eight digs.
AJ Risavy passed across 41 assists.
GCU (5-3) had kill leaders David Kisiel (17) and Christian Janke (15) on its side to contribute to the Lopes' overall .312 hitting percentage. Kisiel also had a match-high 21.5 points.
The Railsplitters got themselves into an eight-point deficit early in set one, 2-10, but after a timeout and a pair of subs, LMU rattled off a 4-0 run thanks to a kill and pair of service aces from Carvalho. The Antelopes responded, stretching their lead back out by nine, but then LMU busted out an 8-1 run in result of a pair of
Dawson Walker service aces and a handful of GCU errors. It pulled the Railsplitters within three, 16-19; however, the Antelopes, who hit .400 percentage compared to the Railsplitters' -.036 clip, scored the next five of six points to shut down an LMU comeback and take a 1-0 match lead.
For a second set in a row, the Railsplitters got behind early. And again, LMU battled back to come within three points, this time 7-10, after Risavy and Walker laid down a kill plus another Walker service ace. The Railsplitters hit better in the second set (.121), but it wasn't good enough down the stretch against the Lopes who were a force behind a .545 hitting percentage. After the Railsplitters' 3-0 run brought them within three, LMU wasn't able to put together multiple points to slow down GCU and gain a set on the Lopes.
LMU found its footing in set three, nearly tripling its hitting percentage (.452) and getting over the 18-point hump the Railsplitters scored in the two previous sets. After trailing 11-17, LMU ripped off a 11-4 run to take the lead. The two teams exchanged over five ties, but it was Railsplitters who used a Risavy and Walker combined block followed by a Walker kill to keep this match going.
The Railsplitters weren't done just yet. LMU used the momentum into the fourth set, where the Railsplitters maintained yet another .400-plus hitting percentage and saw the Lopes' plummet to -.087. GCU came within two points, 11-9, but it was as close as the Lopes would come of the Railsplitters' dominating set that Hermida solidified with one of his 13 kills to force a winner-take-all set five.
Hermida started the final set with another one of his kills followed by the two teams swapping leads. It was a 5-0 run from the Lopes, putting the Railsplitters in a 12-7 deficit that was too steep for LMU to climb out of to complete the comeback.
