MUNCIE, Ind. – Taking on Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, for the second consecutive day, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team showed a lot of fight in a four-set battle inside Worthen Arena. The visiting Railsplitters (1-5) earned a 25-23 second set win and forced extra points in the fourth set before ultimately falling 29-27.
 
Playing its fifth-straight road match against a strong Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) opponent, LMU confidently worked its way back into the match after a dominant 25-16 opening set by the host Cardinals (3-1). A day after not reaching 20 points in three straight sets against Ball State, the Railsplitters challenged the Cardinals to the very end.
 
Posting a season-best 13 total team blocks, LMU eclipsed a .200 attack percentage and laid down 45 kills, including a 15-kill fourth set behind a .333 hitting mark. For the second-straight outing, Ball State swung at over .300 and racked up 63 kills across the four sets as the Cardinals served six aces and the Railsplitters four.
 
Led by freshman right side hitter Justin Sharfenaker's 13 kills, LMU got a career-high 12 kills from freshman outside hitter Cole Campisano and a season-best 10 kills and match-high seven blocks from senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho.
 
Ball State posted 13 kills in the first set with a .286 attack percentage and jumped out to a 10-5 lead before three consecutive points by the Railsplitters made it a two-point set at 10-8. It would be the closest LMU would get for the remainder of the set as the Cardinals put together a five-point run to go up 15-8. Trailing 22-12, the Railsplitters got back-to-back kills from Sharfenaker and Campisano to cap a 4-2 spurt to make it 24-16. However, a kill by Ball State's Quinn Isaacson put the home team up 1-0 in the match.
 
LMU recorded 13 kills in the second set and held the Cardinals to a .270 attack, controlling the stanza from the get-go. Winning the opening three points of the set with a Sharfenaker kill, Campisano and Carvalho block and Campisano kill, the Railsplitters set the tone early and pulled ahead 10-7 following three-straight Ball State attack errors. Sharfenaker and Carvalho rose up for a block to give LMU a 17-13 lead and moments later a trio of points capped with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus made it 21-16. Sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker kept the Railsplitters in front by four at 23-19 with a kill before the Cardinals made a four-point run to tie things up at 23. Not to be denied, Campisano earned a kill and a block by Sharfenaker and Carvalho evened up the match at 1-1 with the 25-23 set two triumph.
 
Held to a .071 attack in the third set, LMU could not keep up with Ball State's .313 hitting and 15 kills. The Railsplitters found themselves behind 8-4 and 11-6 before the Cardinals increased their lead to 17-10. Down 20-12, LMU put together a 6-3 run to make up some ground and get within five at 23-18 on a Campisano kill. However, much like the first set, a service error followed by a Ball State kill closed the set and gave the hosts a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The two teams combined for 33 kills in the fourth set with both the Railsplitters and the Cardinals attacking at over .300. In an extremely tight back-and-forth set, neither squad could create much separation from the other. A trio of consecutive points put LMU in front 13-12 on a Titus service ace but Ball State would go up by three at 19-16. A 4-1 run capped with a Carvalho service ace knotted the set at 20-all and the Railsplitters quickly gained momentum, increasing their run to 7-2. A Sharfenaker kill, block by Walker and Titus and Cardinal attack error gave LMU a promising 23-21 lead.
 
A Walker kill provided the Railsplitters with their second set point of the night at 24-22 but back-to-back Ball State points evened the set once again at 24. A Campisano kill gave LMU its second opportunity to take the fourth set but once again the Cardinals had a response. Another Campisano kill gave the Railsplitters a 26-25 advantage but Ball State's Bryce Behrendt tied things up at 26-26. LMU's final set point of the match came courtesy of a Cardinal service error, prior to Ball State putting together back-to-back kills at 27-all following a Railsplitter serving error.
 
Walker tallied five blocks and sophomore setter Ryan Foy registered a season-high 40 assists and career-high nine digs. Titus and Sharfenaker finished with three blocks apiece, while freshman libero Attia Soliman earned a season-best nine digs and freshman libero Ethan Hubbard totaled a career-high six digs.
 
Blake Reardon led the Cardinals with a match-high 22 kills and nine digs as Brandon Shepherd collected 16 kills and three aces. Ball State got 10 kills and eight digs from Behrendt, a team-best six blocks from Wil McPhillips and five blocks and a pair of aces from Will Hippe. Isaacson notched a match-high 49 assists and 10 digs for the Cardinals.
 
Up Next…
LMU returns home Saturday and welcomes its fifth-straight MIVA opponent to Mary Mars Gymnasium. First serve in Harrogate is slated for 4 p.m. Next week, the Railsplitters begin a five-match road swing Tuesday night at Tusculum.
 
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 2021 season.