GREENEVILLE, TN – Making a tremendous comeback in a deciding fifth set after owning a two-set lead, the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team earned its second South Atlantic Conference series sweep of the season with a 3-2 victory at Tusculum Friday night. The Lady Railsplitters (7-17, 6-11) picked up their third road win of 2019 behind senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker's sixth double-double of the season.
 
Nartker finished with a team-best 13 kills and 16 digs as LMU was able to overcome the Pioneers' 61 kills, 12 blocks and 11 aces inside Pioneer Arena in Greeneville, Tennessee. The Lady Railsplitters claimed opening and second set wins by identical scores of 25-21, before host Tusculum (12-11, 9-8) earned a 25-12 third set and knotted up the match at 2-2 with a 25-20 fourth set triumph. In the fifth, LMU trailed 11-5 but was able to win 10 of the following 12 points to complete the comeback in the decisive set and clinch the match at 15-13.
 
Hitting .140 for the match, the Lady Railsplitters totaled 47 kills and nine blocks and had a pair of aces, while the Pioneers attacked a .196 clip across the five sets.
 
After pulling away late in the first set, LMU found itself trailing 20-19 in the second stanza. However, the Lady Railsplitters went on a tear to win six of the next seven points with four different players collecting a kill during the 6-1 run.
 
Leading the match 2-0, LMU was unable to get anything going in the third set as the home team built a commanding 18-6 advantage and went on to take the set by 13 points. Surrendering the first three points of the fourth set, the Lady Railsplitters bounced back and took a 13-9 lead with kills from freshman outside hitter Cate Hosenfeld and senior right side hitter Rylee Storms. After a Nartker kill, Tusculum claimed six straight points to pull ahead 17-14. The Pioneers ended the set on a 3-0 run and tied up the match, forcing a decisive fifth set.
 
A four-point Tusculum run in the fifth put the home team in front 9-3 and moments later a Pioneer kill and service made it 11-5. From there, LMU would not be denied as back-to-back Tusculum attack errors made it a one-point set at 11-10. A kill from freshman middle hitter Kaley Long and a kill by Storms evened things up at 12, before a Pioneer service error and a Nartker kill gave the visitors match point at 14-13. Storms then served up an ace to secure the Lady Railsplitters' first match victory in nearly two weeks.
 
Storms posted 12 kills and Hosenfeld had nine, while junior middle hitter Yileen Ng He led the way on the block with five total. Sophomore setter Emily Walter recorded her 10th 40-assist match with a match-best 40 assists, a trio of blocks and 14 digs. Long also made three blocks and freshman outside hitter Emma Winford tallied a career-high 16 digs.
 
Emiah Burrowes had a match-high 22 kills for the Pioneers as Gabby Gray provided 14 of her own and Tatum Thornton connected on 13. Gray also had three service aces to go along with 19 digs and Taylor Blithe led all on the block with seven total. Tusculum got five blocks from Thornton, 32 assists from Elise Carmichael and a match-best 25 digs from Carly Sosnowski.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters return to the friendly confines of Mary Mars Gymnasium Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tilt with UVa-Wise. The match will begin LMU's final three-match homestand of the regular season as the Lady Railsplitters host Lenoir-Rhyne next Friday at 7 p.m. for Senior Night 2019, before taking on Mars Hill Saturday, Nov. 9 in a 2 p.m. affair. LMU is seeking its second win over the Cavaliers this season after dominating UVa-Wise back on Sept. 14 in Virginia.

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.