GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Getting back to its winning ways, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team found a way to pull out a thrilling fifth set Friday night at Tusculum University. The Railsplitters (2-6) fought off a pair of match points in the decisive set inside Pioneer Arena in Greeneville, Tennessee, after building a two-set lead. Showing resiliency after the host Pioneers (0-4) took sets three and four, LMU worked its way back from 9-5 and 10-6 deficits in the final set.
 
Tallying a season-high 55 kills in the victory, the Railsplitters were able to overcome 58 Tusculum kills as the two teams each made seven total team blocks.
 
A career-high 14 kills from freshman outside hitter Cole Campisano, a team-high 15 kills by freshman right side hitter Justin Sharfenaker and a season-best 13 kills from senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho led the Railsplitters' attack, which was nearly flawless in the opening set. LMU attacked at a phenomenal .615 clip in the first set en route to a commanding 25-15 set one win before laying down 12 kills in the second set, taking a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 set two triumph.
 
Behind a .400 attack and 11 kills, the Pioneers pulled away late in the third to earn a 25-21 set win. Holding on to a lead in the fourth, Tusculum evened up the match at 2-2 with a second consecutive 25-21 set score. Attacking at .429 and posting 11 kills, the Railsplitters erased a 12-9 disadvantage in the fifth set and staved off Pioneer match points at 14-13 and 15-14 before prevailing 18-16.
 
Committing just two attack errors in the first set, LMU rattled off six-straight points to take a 13-8 lead and went in front 19-12 on a pair of Campisano kills and a Sharfenaker service ace. Clamping down to finish off the set, the Railsplitters benefitted from back-to-back Tusculum errors to take a 1-0 lead in the road affair.
 
Set two proved to be much tighter as the two teams exchanged points with the Pioneers going in front 12-10. A 5-1 LMU run sparked by a Sharfenaker kill put the Railsplitters up 15-13, but a 5-2 Tusculum rally gave the lead back to the home team at 18-17. From there, the Railsplitters put together five consecutive points with back-to-back Pioneer errors giving LMU a 22-18 lead. Kills from Campisano set up set point for the Railsplitters at 24-20 and freshman outside/middle hitter Will Eiken closed out the set moments later with a kill on a Tusculum blocking error.
 
After owning an early 3-2 advantage in the third set, LMU found itself trailing 13-9. Getting back within one at 13-12 on a block by Eiken and junior setter AJ Risavy, the Railsplitters struggled to put points together as the Pioneers mounted an 18-14 lead. Kills from Carvalho and sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus made it a two-point set at 18-16 but Tusculum would push in front 21-18 on a Shaun Kampshoff kill. LMU stayed within two at 21-19 and 22-20 but a service and attack error gave the Pioneers set point before Tusculum laid down a kill to end the set.
 
Swinging at a .400 mark in the third set, the Pioneers posted an impressive 19 kills in the fourth set behind a .378 attack. Errors on Tusculum's attack gave the Railsplitters 6-4 and 9-7 leads in the set before a 5-1 Pioneer run put the hosts up 12-10. Continuing to lead by at least two, Tusculum won four-straight points to build a convincing 20-14 advantage. LMU would make a strong push to get back within two following a 5-1 run composed of Campisano, Eiken and Sharfenaker kills. However, both squads would exchange points and back-to-back kills by the Pioneers' Kampshoff at 23-21 knotted the match at two sets apiece.
 
The Railsplitters attacked at .429 in the fifth set with 11 kills and just two errors, going up 3-2 after winning three points in a row. A 7-2 Tusculum run put the Pioneers ahead 9-5 and a kill kept the lead at four for the home team. Back-to-back kills from Sharfenaker and Eiken made it a two-point match at 10-8 and a four-point LMU stretch put the Railsplitters in front 13-12. An LMU service error followed by a Kampshoff kill gave Tusculum its first match point of the night at 14-13. The Pioneers then got their second match point following a Tusculum attack error and a kill. This time it was Carvalho who fended off the match point with a kill as the Railsplitters took a 16-15 lead on a Pioneer attack error. After a Tusculum kill nodded things up at 16, LMU won the next two points on Pioneer errors to clinch the match.
 
Titus finished with eight kills and a career-high tying four blocks, while Carvalho hit .579 for the night with only two errors on 19 attacks. Carvalho, along with Eiken, also had three blocks as Sharfenaker made a career-high nine digs and Risavy handed out a season-high 45 assists.
 
Kampshoff led Tusculum with a match-high 17 kills and the Pioneers got a match-best seven blocks from Caleb Slater and 12 digs from Taylor Phillips. Tusculum's Colby Landry collected 11 kills and nine digs and Shaphar Grant recorded 10 kills for the Pioneers. Lucas Blanco assisted on 46 of Tusculum's kills.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters continue their lengthy five-match road trip in the month of February Tuesday night at King University in Bristol, Tennessee. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
 
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.