HARROGATE, Tenn. – A night after making a remarkable two-set comeback for a thrilling five-set victory, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 win over visiting Lees-McRae Saturday night inside Mary Mars Gym. Claiming their sixth straight-set victory of 2020, the Railsplitters (8-4) were dominant from start to finish and allowed no more than 12 points in any set.
 
Saturday's win over the Conference Carolinas' Bobcats (0-9) marks the 23rd-straight inside Mary Mars going back to January of 2018.
 
Behind a .424 attack percentage and 36 kills, LMU held Lees-McRae to a negative hitting mark (-.092) and trailed only once throughout the three sets. After taking the opening set 25-10, the Railsplitters notched a 25-12 set two win and rolled to a 25-8 set three triumph.
 
LMU tallied nine aces a day after recording a program-best 19 in the 3-2 win over King and earned seven total blocks, while the Bobcats made just 15 kills and committed 22 attack errors.
 
Racing out to a 10-1 lead in the first set, the Railsplitters built their advantage to 22-8 with seven points in a row and a pair of service aces from freshman outside/middle hitter Will Eiken. A kill by freshman outside hitter Cole Campisano closed out the opening set before LMU quickly built a 7-3 lead in the second stanza.
 
A 6-1 run built the Railsplitters' lead to 13-5 on an ace from sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker and LMU stretched it out to a 19-9 after a pair of Lees-McRae attack errors. The Railsplitters ended the set on a 3-0 run with junior libero Logan Kerley ensuring the 2-0 led in the match with a kill off a Ryan Foy assist.
 
The Bobcats won four of the first seven points of the third set but LMU closed out the match on a 22-4 run. Capped with a kill from freshman middle hitter Matthew Gentry, the Railsplitters rattled off nine-straight points to mount a 15-5 lead. A kill by redshirt senior NyJaee Washington and a kill from Eiken completed an 8-1 run and made it a 23-7 before a pair of Lees-McRae errors ended the match.
 
Senior opposite Evan Cory led the way once again with a match-high eight kills, while Kerley provided six and senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho four. Sophomore outside hitter Johansen Negron and Eiken both served up two aces and Carvalho, Walker and Eiken all rose up for two blocks apiece. Foy assisted on 17 kills and made eight digs as junior setter AJ Risavy handed out nine assists of his own.
 
The Bobcats' Steven Nalls led Lees-McRae with eight digs and Max Kuntz registered four kills.
 
Prior to the match, Cory was honored as the program's first 1,000-kill performer. The Metairie, Louisiana, (Holy Cross HS) native reached the coveted 1,000-kill plateau on Friday, Jan. 10 in a 23-kill outing at Lindenwood. Cory has now amassed 1,154 kills throughout his four-year Railsplitter career.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters return to match action next weekend for a pair of road affairs at Belmont Abbey Friday, Feb. 21 and at Emmanuel Saturday, Feb. 22. Friday night's match with the Crusaders is slated for 7 p.m. while Saturday's tilt features a 2 p.m. first serve.  
 
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.