MARS HILL, N.C. – Unable to find its rhythm Tuesday night inside Stanford Arena in Mars Hill, North Carolina, the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team was handed a straight-set loss by host Mars Hill in South Atlantic Conference action. The Lions (13-10, 10-6) tallied 36 kills, claimed six aces and totaled nine blocks as they won the trio of sets by scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-19.
 
The visiting Lady Railsplitters (6-17, 5-11) were held to a .063 attack percentage and committed 22 errors on the night with 31 kills.
 
Mars Hill busted out of the gates, racing out to an early 9-2 lead in the opening set and never looking back. LMU won consecutive points just three times in the set and was unable to claim more than two points in a row at any point as the Lions attacked at a .390 mark and laid down 17 kills.
 
Once again, Mars Hill got off to a strong start in the second set building a nine-point lead at 14-5. However, the Lady Railsplitters would not go away quietly and made a ferocious comeback attempt. Two four-point runs got LMU within one at 17-16 before a kill and service ace from senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker made it a one-point set once again at 19-18. A kill from junior middle hitter Yileen Ng He and a Lion attack error knotted the set up at 20-20, but Mars Hill would close out the stanza on a 5-0 run.
 
The Lady Railsplitters found themselves trailing 5-1 in the third set but were able to remain within striking distance thanks to kills from Ng He and freshman middle hitter Kaley Long. An eight-point run by the home team put the Lions in front by a comfortable 11-point margin at 17-6 and Mars Hill built its lead to 19-7. Attempting to get back within reach, LMU put together a string of six consecutive points and got within five at 20-15 after kills from senior right side hitter Rylee Storms and Ng He. Back-to-back points by the Lady Railsplitters made it a five-point set once again at 24-19 but a Lion kill ended the match.
 
Storms turned in a near double-double with nine kills and 13 digs, while Ng He finished with 10 kills and Nartker had five kills to go along with 13 digs. Sophomore setter Emily Walter recorded a match-best 28 assists and junior libero Sarah Jones made 21 digs.
 
Sarah Goddard registered 10 kills for Mars Hill as Sally Anne Johnson racked up nine and Grace Lilly contributed five. The Lions got three aces and 23 digs from Ully Martins and Eriana Ansley rose up for a match-best six blocks. Sara Pasour finished with 17 assists and Jordan Schmucker added 13 with Johnson and Kamya Latson combining for six blocks.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters remain on the road and head to Greeneville, Tennessee, Friday for a 7 p.m. match at Tusculum, before returning to the comforts of Mary Mars Gym Saturday. LMU will host UVa-Wise in a 2 p.m. affair Saturday afternoon and stay in Harrogate to close out the home portion of its 2019 schedule the following weekend.

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.