FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – Another impressive offensive performance by Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball led to the Railsplitters' fifth-straight match win Saturday afternoon inside the Shaw Athletic Center in Franklin Springs, Georgia. LMU set the program record for most kills in a four-set match with 57 en route to a 3-1 road victory at Emmanuel College.
 
Attacking at a .285 clip and getting another 20-kill outing from standout senior opposite Evan Cory, the Railsplitters improved to 10-4 on the season.
 
LMU won a 25-21 opening set and took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-16 second set, before the host Lions (4-9) out of Conference Carolinas earned a 25-20 set three win. The Railsplitters clinched the match by taking the fourth set, 25-22, as LMU made 15 kills in three different sets and claimed seven total blocks and 47 digs on defense
 
Cory, who notched a season-high 24 kills during the Railsplitters' remarkable two-set comeback Friday night at Belmont Abbey, recorded a match-best 23 kills and tied his season-high in digs with 14. For the second-straight match, sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker made six blocks and junior Logan Kerley earned a season-best 11 kills and nine digs while serving a pair of aces. Senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho accounted for 11 kills and junior setter AJ Risavy assisted on 49 of LMU's 57 kills.
 
Winning five of the first eight points of the match, the Railsplitters took an early 7-4 lead in set one before Emmanuel tied things up at 12-all. Four consecutive LMU points gave the visitors a 16-12 advantage and a kill by Cory put the Railsplitters in front 21-18. Thanks to a kill from sophomore outside hitter Johansen Negron and then a kill by Carvalho, LMU won the opening set.  
 
After the Lions took the first three points of the second set, the Railsplitters rattled off seven consecutive points capped by a Negron ace. Emmanuel would get within two at 8-6 and then later three a trio of times at 10-7, 12-9 and 17-14, but a 4-1 Railsplitter run built LMU's lead to 21-15 with back-to-back Kerley kills. The Blue and Gray won seven of the final eight points of the set, including the last four, taking a 2-0 lead on an ace from Kerley.
 
The hosts jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the third set and extended their advantage to 18-13 before the Railsplitters got within three at 19-16 with a pair of kills from Walker. However, it wouldn't be enough as the Lions secured set three when LMU committed back-to-back attacking errors.
 
A Kerley kill put the Railsplitters up 7-4 in the fourth set but a 7-3 Lion run gave the home team an 11-10 lead. From there, LMU went on a 7-2 run thanks to four Emmanuel attack errors. A kill from both Carvalho and Cory gave the Railsplitters a sizable 21-16 advantage but a trio of consecutive points by the Lions made it a two-point set at 23-21. Determined to get back to Harrogate with a second win on the weekend, LMU rose up for kills with Risavy's swing making it 24-21 and Cory's attack closing out the set and match.
 
Emmanuel made 50 kills in the affair but was only able to dig out 31 Railsplitter attacks. Aleksa Lakic led the way for the Lions with 21 kills, two aces and a five digs, while Don Thompson tallied 14 kills and nine digs. Philipp Lauter had eight kills and a team-high three blocks and Henrik Westhoff handed out 44 assists.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters return to the friendly confines of Mary Mars Gymnasium next weekend where they welcome Queens Friday, Feb. 28 and Limestone Saturday, Feb. 29.  
 
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.