WINGATE, N.C. – A red-hot and powerful Wingate University women's volleyball squad brought a close to the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team's 2019 campaign Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament in North Carolina. The Lady Railsplitters (11-19), who recently had a five-match win streak snapped Saturday, dropped a straight-set decision to the top-seeded and 24th-ranked Bulldogs (29-1) inside Cuddy Arena.
 
Winning its 10th consecutive match after claiming its 13th SAC regular season title in the last 14 years, Wingate used an impressive .386 hitting percentage and 39 kills to upend LMU 25-18, 25-19, 25-9 in three sets. The host Bulldogs recorded at least 12 kills in each set and limited the Lady Railsplitters to 25 kills and a hitting mark of 0.033. Unable to match Wingate's 11 service aces and 10 blocks, LMU collected just two points directly off its serve and made only one block on the night.
 
Starting off strong, the Lady Railsplitters jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set thanks to kills by senior right side hitter Rylee Storms and freshman middle hitter Kaley Long and a service ace from senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker. After a Bulldog counter attack got the home team within one at 7-6, another Storms kill gave LMU a three-point advantage at 9-6. Moments later, a Wingate serving error and ball handling error put the Lady Railsplitters in front 12-10. Kills from Long and freshman outside hitter Emma Winford kept LMU in front by two at 13-11 and 14-12 before the Bulldogs went on a 6-2 run to go out in front 18-16. From there, the Lady Railsplitters would win just two more points in the set as Wingate closed the stanza on a 7-1 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Much like set one LMU started the second set on a high note, claiming five of the first six points. A kill by Nartker put the Lady Railsplitters up 7-3 and a Long kill helped the visitors maintain the advantage at 9-8. Following a 4-1 mini-run by the Bulldogs, LMU went on a five-point tear with three Wingate errors, a Nartker kill and an ace from junior libero Sarah Jones giving the Blue and Gray a 15-12 lead. However, the Bulldogs won the following five points to take a 17-15 advantage that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. A kill by freshman outside hitter Cate Hosenfeld kept the Lady Railsplitters within one at 19-18, but a 6-1 Wingate run closed out the set and gave the home team a convincing 2-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs raced out of the gate in the third set, winning 10 of the first 11 points and extending their lead to 16-4 after a four-point strand with three kills. Hitting .407 for the entirety of the set, Wingate allowed LMU to win back-to-back points just twice as it extended its advantage to 22-6 with yet another mini four-point run. A pair of Bulldog errors helped the Lady Railsplitters win consecutive points at 22-8 and another error gave LMU its ninth point, but a Wingate kill quickly brought an end to the night.
 
Nartker led the way for the Lady Railsplitters in her final match competing for LMU, tallying six kills while fellow senior Storms and junior middle hitter Yileen Ng He laid down five kills each. Sophomore setter Emily Walter assisted on 22 of the Lady Railsplitters' 25 kills and Jones made a match-best 13 digs.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Lynnlee Mather's eight kills and six total blocks as Sophie Schaff claimed seven kills and Reese Blackley provided five kills of her own. Wingate got a trio of aces from both Shannon Kasprak and Maggie Young, not to mention four blocks from Anne Abernathy and Treslyn Ortiz' team-high nine digs.
 
LMU ends the 2019 season by winning five of its final seven matches.
 
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.