HARROGATE, Tenn. — Behind Evan Cory's stellar outing, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team brushed off a set two loss and powered itself to a 3-1, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, victory over Queens inside Mary Mars Gym Thursday night to stay defeated at home.
 
Cory, the junior from Metairie, La., had a .354 hitting percentage and a match-high 22 kills, 30.5 points, seven blocks and four service aces plus a second-best eight digs. Logan Kerley was right behind him with nine kills and a match-tying 10 digs, while AJ Risavy had a match-high 40 assists with the last being the most important to Cory for the match-winning point.
 
For Queens (4-13), Tristan Santoyo paced his team with 18 kills and 19.5 points, while Ruben Greenstein tied Kerley with 10 digs.
 
Each time LMU (8-6) took a comfortable lead in the opening set, the Royals responded with a run to show they weren't giving up that easily. The Railsplitters rattled off a 3-0 spurt to get things started in their first home match since Feb. 9, and then from there they never surrendered the lead. Even though Queens came within one down the stretch twice, 19-20 and 22-23, the Railsplitters' .273 hitting percentage compared to the Royals' .069 was the key difference. It was a Jordan Walley service ace — out of a Queens' timeout — that put a stop to the late Royal surge for good.
 
The Royals took the late momentum from the first set and put it forward into the next as they used a 6-0 run to jump out to a quick 8-4 lead in set two. LMU answered, though, scoring the next seven of nine points. From there, the two IVA squads went back-and-forth, but it was the Royals, who upped their hitting percentage to .407, getting the last word. Queens limited the Railsplitters to a .207 hitting percentage, and then propelled to the set victory thanks to an 8-2 run to even the match at 1.
 
Neither team hit their best in the third set as the Railsplitters had a match-low .116 hitting percentage, but the Royals' was even lower (.095). Queens took the early lead for the consecutive set, going up 11-7 with a 5-1 run, but LMU chipped away at the deficit. Cory started it as he smacked down back-to-back kills to come with one, 12-13, and after that the Railsplitters continued to pave their way. A kill from Logan Kerley and Cory put LMU up three, and then following a Queens' timeout, Cory secured the 2-1 match lead with a service ace.
 
The runs powered the fourth and final set. Queens started it with a 3-0 spurt before the teams traded points, and then LMU scored six straight — highlighted by a Cory kill and two service aces — to go up 9-6. But the Royals kept fighting back, using a 4-0 run just for the Railsplitters to shut it down with a 5-1 run. And again, the Royals roared through with four points to knot the score at 23-all, but Walley put down a kill and Cory capped it with his 22nd kill for the match win and season sweep of Queens.
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters will be back inside Mary Mars Gym in less than 24 hours for another home match — this one versus Cumberland for the first time in program history at 7 p.m. Friday