GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Behind a .415 attack percentage and 37 kills, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team won its third straight-set match of the young season Tuesday night at Tusculum University. The Railsplitters (3-1) wasted no time in picking up their second consecutive 3-0 road victory in their first Independent Volleyball Association matchup of 2020, needing only an hour to sweep the host Pioneers (1-3).
 
First-year program Tusculum was held to a -.015 attacking clip and did not score more than 18 points in any set. After taking the first, 25-16, LMU won set two by a 25-18 count before closing things out with a dominant 25-10 set three win. The Railsplitters, who tallied at least 10 kills in each set, hit .478 in the opening stanza and posted an impressive .524 attack percentage in the final set.
 
Led by senior opposite and reining Off the Block Independent Teams Player of the Week Evan Cory's nine kills, three service aces and five digs, LMU got eight kills on a ridiculous .727 attack mark and four blocks from senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho. Entering the Railsplitters' lineup for the first time of his sophomore campaign, setter AJ Risavy assisted on 25 kills and freshman libero Attia Soliman made a match-high six digs.
 
LMU won the first four points of the match and sprinted out to a 11-3 lead in the first set before kills from sophomore outside hitter Johansen Negron and Carvalho helped cap a 5-1 Railsplitter run and gave the visitors a commanding 16-5 advantage. The Pioneers won six of the following nine points to make it 19-11 but a kills from Cory and Negron put LMU in front 22-13 and 23-14. After Tusculum won back-to-back points, a Negron kill followed by a Pioneer attack error closed out the set.
 
Knotted at seven in the second set, the Railsplitters put together five-straight points to take a 12-7 lead on an ace from sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker. Tusculum would battle back and get within one at 16-5 after a 6-2 run. However, a Pioneer serving error and an ace by sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus gave LMU a 18-15 lead. Another strand of five consecutive Railsplitter points made it a 23-16 set and LMU would split the next four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match on a Cory kill.
 
Tusculum won three of the first seven points of the third set before being outscored 21-7 by the Railsplitters. A Carvalho ace made it 7-3 and LMU rattled off seven-straight points to pull in front by 10 at 14-4. Following a Pioneer timeout, Tusculum won two of the following three points but a 7-1 Railsplitter run gave LMU an insurmountable 22-7 advantage. The two teams split the last six points of the match with kills from Risavy and Carvalho and a Pioneer service error securing the match win.
 
The Railsplitters never trailed in the affair and committed just eight attack errors, compared to Tusculum's 19. The Pioneers totaled only 18 kills on the night and collected just two in the third after attacking at -.214 for the set.
 
Tusculum's Shaun Kampshoff and Matteo Miselli each claimed five kills, while the Pioneers' Shaphar Grant earned five blocks and Lucas Blanco 15 assists.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters wrap up their four-match road trip Thursday night at 15th-ranked Ohio State. First serve from the Covelli in Columbus, Ohio, is slated for 6 p.m. Next Monday, Jan. 20, at 8 p.m. LMU hosts top-ranked and three-time NCAA finalist Hawai'i inside Tex Turner Arena.
 
How to Follow
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 Railsplitter volleyball throughout the 2020 season.