HARROGATE, Tenn. – Returning to the friendly confines of historic Mary E. Mars Gymnasium, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team completed its first season sweep of King University in program history with a definitive 3-0 win Tuesday afternoon. The Railsplitters (7-8) tallied 40 kills and held the visiting Tornado (7-9) to a .154 attack percentage to capture their second consecutive and sixth straight-set victory of the season.
 
Controlling much of the match, LMU got clutch play from junior outside hitter Logan Kerley, efficient attacking from senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho and a team-high 10 kills from sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus. Taking the opening set 25-21, the Railsplitters staved off a set point in the second set and pulled out a 27-25 win before securing the match with a convincing 25-19 third set.
 
Both teams served a trio of aces and LMU overcame a strong King block, which racked up eight total team blocks across the three sets.
 
Totaling a combined 30 kills in the first two sets alone, the Railsplitters swung at a .367 clip in set one with only four attack errors. Four consecutive kills courtesy of Titus, Carvalho and freshman right side hitter Justin Sharfenaker gave LMU a 4-2 lead early in the opening stanza. With eight ties and five lead changes throughout the set, the Railsplitters built a 14-11 advantage with a block from Titus and Carvalho. A Tornado attack error put LMU ahead 19-15 but King bounced back with four-straight points to knot things up at 19. The Railsplitters would win four of the next five points, taking a 23-20 lead on a Titus kill. After a kill by the Tornado's Joshua Kim, back-to-back kills from Carvalho and Sharfenaker brought a close to set one.
 
Despite being outdone .205 to .189 in attack percentage in the second set, LMU edged King 15-14 in kills as the score became tied a total of 12 times in the set. At 10-10, the Tornado strung together three-straight points to push in front 13-10 but the Railsplitters responded with a 3-0 run of their own. Trailing 18-15 and 21-18, LMU scored four consecutive points to take a 22-21 advantage. From there, the two squads would exchange blows until the Railsplitters earned set point at 24-23 on a Titus kill. However, King got an LMU service error and a kill from Kim to claim a set point at 25-24. Kills by sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker and Carvalho gave the Railsplitters their second set point at 26-25 and LMU took a two-set lead in the match on a Tornado attack error.
 
With 10 kills apiece in the third and final set, King was limited to a .000 attack after making 10 attack errors. After falling behind 4-1, the Railsplitters used a trio of points to take a 10-9 lead on a Sharfenaker kill. A 4-0 LMU run capped by a Carvalho ace created some separation for the home team as the Railsplitters went ahead 16-12. LMU then went up by five at 21-16 after a Walker kill and a Tornado attack error. Following two consecutive points by the visitors, the Railsplitters put together three-straight points sparked by a Titus kill to reach match point at 24-18. Sharfenaker rose up for the final point of the afternoon after King's last kill, sealing the match with a strong swing.
 
Carvalho hit at an impressive .429 mark with eight kills and recorded a pair of blocks and an ace, while Walker and Sharfenaker also finished with eight kills. Kerley notched six kills and a season-high 11 digs and Walker added a pair of blocks. Junior setter AJ Risavy assisted on 34 of LMU's 40 kills and made a season-high tying seven digs as freshman libero Attia Soliman got to seven digs.
 
The Tornado was led by Kim's 14 kills and eight digs and King got nine kills and two aces from Diego Marcano. Aaron Milstead made a match-high four blocks for the Tornado and Noah Melendez registered a match-best 13 digs.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters will have three days off from match action before hosting Tusculum Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. After a week break, LMU returns next weekend with home tilts versus Limestone on Friday, March 26 and Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday, March 27.
 
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.