ANDERSON, S.C. – For the third consecutive match, the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team battled in a five-set South Atlantic Conference road affair Saturday afternoon at Anderson University in South Carolina. The Lady Railsplitters (2-6, 2-3 SAC) racked up a season-high 53 kills but were unable to stop the host Trojans' 71 as Anderson (6-2, 4-1 SAC) rebounded from a 2-1 set difference to claim a 3-2 win inside the Abney Athletic Center.
 
Hitting .152 for the match, LMU claimed a 1-0 lead after a 25-22 opening set prior to the Trojans winning set two, 26-24. The visiting Lady Railsplitters took a 2-1 advantage in the match after gutting out a 25-23 third set but a lengthy, 30-28 fourth went the way of Anderson to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
The host Trojans attacked at a clip of .198 for the five sets and hit .333 in the fourth with 17 kills and .350 in the deciding set where they outscored LMU 16-14 for the victory.
 
Anderson jumped out to a 7-4 lead in set one before the Lady Railsplitters tied things up at nine apiece. Trailing 18-16 and 21-19, LMU rattled off four-straight points to take a 23-21 lead and then got kills from freshman outside hitter Emma Winford and sophomore setter Emily Walter to finish off the set.
 
Another strong start by the Trojans gave the home team an early advantage in set two before the Lady Railsplitters worked back from trailing 11-5, tying things up at 16-16 following a five-point LMU run. A pair of kills and a service ace put Anderson ahead 21-18 and the Lady Railsplitters were only able to tie things at 24 following a kill from senior middle hitter Rylee Storms and a Trojan attack error. An Anderson kill and an LMU attack error ended the set and tied the match at 1-1.
 
The Lady Railsplitters worked their way back from a 12-8 deficit and played from behind for the majority of the third set. Trailing 23-21, a kill by junior Missouri State-West Plains transfer middle hitter Yileen Ng He sparked a four-point tear. Two kills from senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker and a Trojan error clinched set three and put LMU up 2-1.
 
Despite holding three match points, the Lady Railsplitters were unable to seal the deal in the fourth set. Rebounding from an early 7-3 deficit, LMU played a close stanza but held control for the most part until Anderson took a 20-18 lead following a strand of three points. The Lady Railsplitters would go up 21-20 and 23-22 before a Trojan attack error gave LMU its first match point at 24-23. After facing set point down at 25-24, the Lady Railsplitters put two points together to reach match point once again at 26-25. A Nartker kill gave LMU its final match point of the afternoon at 28-27, but an Anderson kill followed by a pair of Lady Railsplitter attack errors gave the hosts the set win.
 
A Ng He ace in the deciding fifth set gave LMU a 6-4 advantage and kills from Storms and freshman outside hitter Cate Hosenfeld put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 8-7 and 9-8, respectively. Moments later, a kill by freshman middle hitter Kaley Long and a Sarah Jones ace put LMU up by two at 11-9. However, it would be the last lead the Lady Railsplitters would hold for the remainder of the afternoon as a four-point Trojan run gave the home team a 13-11 advantage. The two teams would split the following six points, but it was enough for Anderson to hold on for the match triumph.
 
Nartker, Hosenfeld and Storms accounted for 37 of LMU's 53 kills on the afternoon with Ng He providing eight kills and a trio of aces, along with junior libero Jones who also had a match-high 33 digs. Ng He made a team-best five total blocks, while Nartker claimed four and Walter handed out 37 assists to go along with 10 digs of her own.
 
The Trojans were led by Hailee Wilhelm's 17 kills and Taylor Weber's 15 as Maya Learmonth registered nine. Anderson got five aces from Lindsay McCurley, five total blocks from Noelle Knutsen and another four blocks from Weber. Emily Conlin notched a match-high 53 assists and McCurley (17), Meghan DeVaux (14) and Emily Conlin (13) all reached double-digits in digs.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters continue their extensive, seven-match SAC road swing Tuesday at nearby Carson-Newman. First serve from Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tennessee, is slated for 7 p.m. Next weekend, LMU traverses to Wingate and Coker before hosting Catawba 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.