HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Pacers of USC Aiken claimed the first four points of the morning and six of the opening seven before winning three consecutive sets against the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team Friday inside Mary Mars Gymnasium. The Lady Railsplitters (0-1) were held to a .050 hitting mark in their 2019 season opener, while the visiting Pacers (1-0) hit at a clip of .148 and recorded 39 kills to kick off LMU's opening weekend cross-conference tournament in Harrogate.
 
USC Aiken started out its fall campaign on a high note, racing to 10-point, 25-15 set one win as the Pacers held the Lady Railsplitters to a -.067 hitting percentage. However, LMU would look to even up the match in the second set, starting with purpose and winning the first three points of the stanza thanks to a pair of kills from senior right side hitter Rylee Storms and a service ace by senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker. The Lady Railsplitters went on to lead 4-2 in the set before the visitors rattled off six of the next seven points to take an 8-5 advantage.
 
LMU evened up the set score three times before a Storms serve put the Lady Railsplitters up by one at 16-15. Another service ace, this time from freshman defensive specialist Lauren Lask, gave LMU an 18-17 second set lead but it would be the last for the Lady Railsplitters in the stanza. Despite the score being knotted up at 20 apiece, USC Aiken pulled away from LMU by winning five of the final eight points of the set to take a 2-0 match lead.
 
The second set saw the Lady Railsplitters claim 10 kills, but it wasn't nearly enough to top the Pacers' .229 hitting mark and 14 kills on 35 total attacks.
 
USC Aiken jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third set before LMU took a 6-3 lead following five-straight points. A kill from junior defensive specialist Sarah Jones put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 9-7 and a Nartker kill moments later gave LMU a 12-10 advantage. The Blue and Gray would lead 16-13 and 17-14 but an 8-0 run by the Pacers gave the visiting team a commanding 22-17 lead. The Lady Railsplitters battled back to make it a one-point set at 22-21 thanks to another Nartker kill, but three kills in four points by USC Aiken gave the Pacers a 25-22 set win and the straight-set victory.
 
Storms led the way offensively for LMU with six kills, while Nartker had five and a pair of service aces. Sophomore setter Emily Walter collected four total blocks to go along with her 20 assists as junior Missouri State-West Plains transfer middle hitter Yileen Ng He had six block assists. Defensively, Jones made a team-high 13 digs and Storms provided 10.
 
USC Aiken's Alie Smith led all players with 10 kills, while the Pacers' Abbey Schad hit at a clip of .286 with eight kills. Alli bell contributed a match-high 29 assists for USC Aiken as Kayla Duggan earned three aces and Schad a trio of block assists. The Pacers' libero, Rebecca Martinez, dug out a team-high 12 balls.
 
Ticket Info
All general admission tickets for LMU's season-opening tournament at Mary Mars Gym are $5. Children under the age of five, in addition to LMU students, faculty and staff with a valid LMU ID, and L-Club members will receive FREE admission.
 
Up Next…
LMU will take on Conference Carolinas' Emmanuel in the Friday nightcap at 7 p.m., before closing out the opening weekend tournament Saturday at 5 p.m. against another Conference Carolina foe in King. Following this weekend's season-opening tournament, the Lady Railsplitters will remain in Harrogate and begin SAC competition next weekend by welcoming Tusculum to Mary Mars Gym Friday, Sept. 13 for a 7 p.m. first serve. LMU will then hit the road for an extensive seven-match road trip spanning across three weeks.

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.