BANNER ELK, N.C. — The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team stumbled in the second set, but found its opening-set groove in the next two as the Railsplitters bounced back with a 3-1, 25-16, 20,25, 25-17, 25-18, victory at Lees-McRae Saturday afternoon.
 
LMU was paced by Pedro Carvalho's season-high 13 kills on a .750 hitting parentage and his 14.5 points, while Evan Cory secured a match-high 15 kills and 18.5 points. Cory also tied Jordan Walley with a team-high seven digs as the two led the team in service aces with Cory's three and Walley's match-high five. Walley (16 points) and Logan Kerley (11.5 points) each added 10 kills apiece, while Lucas Kerley and Carvalho tied for a team-best three total blocks. AJ Risavy added 44 assists and four digs.
 
On the home side, Drew Sims had a team-high nine kills and 11 points, and then Jeffrey Olson had six kills plus the same number of points. Chris Woolslayer secured a team-high 10 digs and the team's lone service ace, while Nick Cookingham had eight more and 21 assists.
 
As the Railsplitters hopped back on the bus Friday night following a tough loss at  the University of Mount Olive, they left what happened and put their focus into the match 300 miles down the road.
 
It showed in LMU's opening set where the visiting team hit a blistering .522 behind 14 kills, while limiting the Bobcats' clip to 0.00 and four kills. The Railsplitters got off to a hot start, rattling off a 7-1 run — powered by three Carvalho kills — to prove they meant business. Lees-McRae came within six multiple times, but it was as close as the home team would get of the Railsplitters and their eventual set one victory.
 
Just like on Friday, the roles reserved in the second set. The Bobcats knocked the Railsplitters' hitting percentage to .029 and docked off five kills (10), while upping their clip to .320 and more than doubling the kills to 11. LMU started the second set like they finished the first, ripping off a run, this one 4-0, but Lees-McRae responded with one of their own before using a 5-0 spurt later on to go ahead for good and even the match at 1.
 
The Bobcats took the early lead into the third set; however, the Railsplitters found their groove again. After John Cash called a timeout with LMU ahead by one, 14-13, the Railsplitters were never threatened again. It was a 4-0 run out of the timeout — combined with LMU's 11-4 run to end the set and a .290 hitting percentage compared to the Bobcats' .115 clip — that pushed the Railsplitters back into the match lead, 2-1.
 
LMU didn't have its best set hitting from the net (.111), but the Railsplitters controlled most of the entire fourth and final set while using eight Bobcat errors and their -.045 hitting clip to their advantage. LMU used a 6-1 run to start the set, and then Lees-McRae took the slight lead, 15-13, but the Railsplitters then ripped off runs of six and four to secure the bounce-back match victory.
 
Up Next
LMU has the week off before hosting Quincy next Saturday for a 2 p.m. first serve inside Mary Mars Gym, where the Railsplitters are 8-0 on the season.