COLUMBUS, Ohio – After two full sets of play inside the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team stood tied with 15th-ranked Ohio State but could not pull off the road upset in a four-set setback. Attempting to pull off one of the largest upsets in NCAA Division I-II volleyball early in the season, the Railsplitters (3-2) rebounded from a 25-15 opening set loss and took a 25-21 second set from the host Buckeyes (4-0) before being outdone 25-15 and 25-18 in the following two stanzas.
 
Running into an Ohio State squad who attacked at a .344 clip and totaled 59 kills, LMU was able to hit at a .250 mark in the first and fourth sets but was hampered by a .000 attacking percentage in the third. The Railsplitters attacked at .241 in the second set and made 13 kills, finishing the night with 46 total kills off of a .181 attack. The Buckeyes rose up for 17 total blocks and served five aces in the four-set affair.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Johansen Negron laid down a season-best 13 kills and claimed seven digs as fellow sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus had a career night, also making 13 kills. Reigning Off the Block Independent Teams Player of the Week senior opposite Evan Cory posted eight kills and eight digs, while junior setter AJ Risavy handed out a team-best 37 assists and nine digs. Senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho earned five blocks for the Blue and Gray.
 
A kill from Ohio State's Tyler Alter gave the home team a 6-4 lead early in the opening set before a kill by Risavy got LMU within one. A four-point Buckeye run put Ohio State up 11-6 but the Railsplitters responded by winning three of the next four points to make it 12-9. From there, the Buckeyes went on a 5-1 run to push out in front by seven. A trio of Ohio State serving errors and kills from Cory and Risavy would be the only points LMU would win for the remainder of the set as the Buckeyes attacked at a remarkable .640 rate with 16 kills and zero errors.
 
The Railsplitters got a pair of kills from Carvalho, in addition to a set-opening Cory kill and an Ohio State attacking error to jump out to a 4-2 lead in the second set. The Buckeyes responded with a 4-1 run to take a 6-5 advantage and stayed in front by two with a kill from Alter make it 13-11 in favor of the home squad. LMU then went on a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 16-14 off of a Carvalho and Negron block. An Ohio State attack and then service error gave the Railsplitters an 18-15 lead before the Buckeyes strung together four consecutive points. Trailing 19-18, LMU won back-to-back points and four of the next five thanks to a Carvalho and Titus block, kills from Titus and Cory and an Ohio State serving error. Forcing a Buckeye timeout at 22-20, the Railsplitters lost just one more point before closing the set out with three-straight points off of a Titus kill, Ohio State attack error and Cory ace.
 
With the match knotted at a set apiece, the Buckeyes raced out to a 5-2 lead in the third before LMU responded with a block from Carvalho and Cory and another Titus kill. An 8-4 Ohio State run put the home team in front 13-8 and the Railsplitters found themselves down 19-10 after six-straight Buckeye points at 13-10. LMU would win five of the final 11 points of the set but it was too little, too late as Ohio State took a 2-1 lead in the contest.
 
Much like the third set, the Buckeyes took a 7-2 lead early in the fourth before the Railsplitters won three of four points with two kills from Titus and an Ohio State attack error. The Buckeyes stretched their lead to six, going up 12-6 on a kill from Martin Lallemand and continuing their strong play with four kills and a solo block resulting in an eight-point set 17-9. Making a mid-set push, LMU won five of the following six points to get within four at 18-14 on a trio of kills by Titus and Negron. The two teams would split the next six points before Ohio State ended the set on a 4-1 run, Negron's kill at 24-17 being the Railsplitters' final point of the night.
 
Lallemand led the Buckeyes with a match-high 18 kills and made five blocks and seven digs, while Reese Devilbiss provided 16 kills, six blocks and two aces. Alter finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs for Ohio State as Samuel Clark notched eight blocks and Ethan Talley seven. Luke Lentin assisted on 51 of the Buckeyes' 59 kills and Parker Mikesch recorded a match-best 15 digs.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters return to Harrogate for a pair of home matches next week, beginning Monday by hosting top-ranked and three-time NCAA finalist Hawai'i inside Tex Turner Arena. First serve is slated for 8 p.m. as the Rainbow Warriors will be only the second top-ranked NCAA team in any sport to visit Harrogate. Furthermore, Hawai'i will be the first Division I No. 1 program the school has hosted.
 
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.