HARROGATE, Tenn. – An opening set rout against visiting Coker University gave way to a pair of tightly-contested, two-point set victories for the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team Saturday afternoon inside Mary Mars Gymnasium in Harrogate. The Lady Railsplitters (6-13, 5-7) claimed their third straight-set South Atlantic Conference as they defeated the Cobras (5-12, 2-11) 3-0 behind 33 kills and an attack percentage of .221.
 
Senior right side hitter Rylee Storms and junior middle hitter Yileen Ng He recorded 11 kills apiece and LMU hit at a .474 clip in the first set, cruising to a 25-8 win. The Lady Railsplitters notched 11 kills in all three sets, holding on for a 25-23 second set triumph and coming back to claim set three by an identical score.
 
Holding Coker to a .112 attack mark on the day, including limiting the visitors to an attack percentage of just -.050 and only four kills in the opener, LMU overcame 26 Cobra kills over the last two sets.
 
After dropping the first three points of set one, the Lady Railsplitters responded by winning five straight capped by a Storms service ace. Following a one-point margin at 6-5, LMU went on lengthy six-point runs to build a commanding 18-6 lead. A Storms kill wrapped up another five-point Lady Railsplitter run and put the home team ahead 23-7 before a Coker attack error and Storms' seventh kill of the match completed the set.
 
LMU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in set two and went ahead 12-5 on one of senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker's four service aces in the contest. A Cobra serving error followed by back-to-back Nartker kills gave the Lady Railsplitters a comfortable 19-10 lead. However, Coker would not go away quietly and won eight of the next 11 points to get within four at 22-18. A four-point Cobra run at 24-19 got the visitors within one at 24-23, but Ng He would rise up for an easy kill at the net to secure the set and give LMU a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Despite winning three of the first four points of the third set, the Lady Railsplitters found themselves trailing by six at 10-4 and 12-6. Stringing together five points in a row, a Ng He kill got LMU within one at 12-11. Down 14-11, a six-point Lady Railsplitter run put LMU out in front 17-14. The sizable advantage would be short lived, however, as Coker won eight of the following 10 points to build a three-point, 22-19 lead.
 
The Lady Railsplitters would not be denied of a straight-set victory and made a fierce comeback controlled by Nartker's serve. A Cobra attack error and then Nartker's fourth ace capped a five-point run and put LMU in front 24-22. After Coker got a kill from Emily Everton, freshman outside hitter Emma Winford made the set and match-clinching kill for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Ng He provided a trio of service aces across the three sets, not to mention three total blocks, and Storms added a pair of aces as sophomore setter Emily Walter claimed three total blocks and dished out a match-high 26 assists. Junior libero Sarah Jones led LMU's back line with 14 digs while Nartker recorded 10 digs of her own and Winford eight.
 
Everton led the Cobras offense with 11 kills as Taylor du Bray contributed seven and Alexis Kopicki five. Du Bray also had three service aces, a match-high seven total blocks and a team-best 12 digs as Sierra Harvey earned six total blocks and Ashley Carson handed out 16 assists. Gabrielle Milo tallied 10 digs for Coker.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters continue their five-match homestand Tuesday evening with a 7 p.m. conference tilt with Carson-Newman. Next weekend, LMU will host Newberry and Anderson inside Mary Mars Gym, taking on the Wolves Friday at 7 p.m. before facing the Trojans Saturday at 2 p.m. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, the Lady Railsplitters will traverse to Mars Hill, North Carolina.

Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Lady Railsplitter volleyball throughout the 2019 season.