NEWBERRY, S.C. – Another South Atlantic Conference road match, another five-set affair for the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team Friday night in Newberry, South Carolina. The Lady Railsplitters (2-5, 2-2 SAC) played their second-straight five-set match among a boisterous crowd that nearly numbered 600 inside Newberry's Eleazer Arena as the host Wolves (3-5, 1-3 SAC) claimed their first league win, 3-2.
 
After claiming the opening set, 25-18, LMU was handed a 25-18 set two setback before being narrowly edged 30-28 in set three. The Lady Railsplitters took set four in impressive fashion, 25-16, but were unable to pull off the conference road win with Newberry winning the fifth by a count of 15-10.
 
Hitting at a clip of .226 in the five sets, the Wolves racked up 60 kills and attacked at a fearsome percentage of .529 in the fifth stanza. For the second consecutive outing, LMU notched 51 kills while hitting .192 and serving a season-high 13 aces.
 
A six-point run in the first set built an 11-5 lead for the Lady Railsplitters before a Lauren Lask service ace made it 18-12 in favor of the visitors. An ace from junior Missouri State-West Plains transfer middle hitter Yileen Ng He gave LMU a comfortable advantage at 22-14 and moments later a Newberry attack error gave the Lady Railsplitters the opening set.
 
The Wolves pounced in the second set, jumping out to a 9-2 lead before a Newberry attack error made it 10-5. A pair of Wolf kills, coupled with a pair of LMU errors, put the home team ahead 14-5 and Newberry would not allow the Lady Railsplitters to get closer than five for the remainder of the set.
 
Much like set two, the Wolves grabbed an early lead in the third as they went up 8-3 on an ace. However, this time LMU would respond and get within one at 13-12 with a Ng He kill. Following a Jenny Michael timeout, the Lady Railsplitters went on a seven-point tear to take a 19-16 lead. A Ng He serve gave LMU a four-point, 22-18 lead but Newberry would win seven of the following nine points to take back the lead at 25-24. Two kills from senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker gave the Lady Railsplitters set point twice at 26-25 and 27-26, but the Wolves would stave off both and escape another LMU set point at 28-27 as the home team won the final three points of the set.
 
The Lady Railsplitters had to fight their way back from an early deficit once again in the fourth set, rebounding from being down 7-3 and later 11-6. A Newberry attack error capped a six-point LMU run and gave the visitors the set lead at 12-11. Another six-point run built the Lady Railsplitters' advantage to six at 18-12 before LMU cruised to a nine-point set victory to tie up the match at 2-2.
 
The decisive fifth set was knotted up at 3-3 before a trio of aces from freshman defensive specialist Lauren Lask put the Lady Railsplitters up 6-3. The Wolves won the next three points and LMU the following two, giving the Lady Railsplitters an 8-6 lead. However, LMU would not earn a point on its own for the remainder of the match as Newberry won nine of the final 11 points with the Lady Railsplitters only benefiting from a pair of Wolf service errors.
 
Nartker (14), freshman outside hitter Cate Hosenfeld (12) and Storms (10) all reached double-digit kills, while Ng He recorded seven and served up a career-high five aces. Lask added four aces and freshman middle hitter Kaley Long provided a trio of blocks as sophomore setter Emily Walter handed out 40 assists. Junior libero Sarah Jones made a team-high 18 digs and Nartker compiled 10.
 
Toni-Anne Whitlow registered a match-high 20 kills for Newberry, who also got 16 kills from Angela Gore and 11 from Zoe Dinkins. Kylee Kanealey and Taylor Garrison both earned three aces, while Dinkins made five blocks and Kanealey four. Forty-seven of the Wolves' 60 kills were assisted by Taylor Garrison as Katie Ullsperger claimed a match-high 19 digs and Angela Gore and Morgan Walter accounted for 15 each.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters continue their extensive, seven-match SAC road swing and remain in the Palmetto State for a Saturday afternoon tilt at Anderson. First serve from the Abney Athletic Center in Anderson, South Carolina, is slated for 2 p.m. Next week, LMU visits Carson-Newman, Wingate and Coker before returning to the friendly confines of Mary Mars Gymnasium Friday, Oct. 4.

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.