HARROGATE, Tenn. – Picking up its fifth consecutive win and securing its seventh triumph in the last eight matches, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team handled Queens University of Charlotte 3-0 Saturday afternoon inside historic Mary E. Mars Gymnasium in Harrogate. The Railsplitters, who improved to 10-8 with the victory, were dominant in a 25-18 opening set and led for the majority of the match before earning 25-23 and 26-24 set two and set three wins.
 
Recording its seventh straight-set victory of the year and fourth in five outings, LMU swung at a .329 clip across the three sets and put to rest 39 kills and eight service aces. Holding the visiting Royals (12-10) to a .278 attack percentage, the Railsplitters made just 13 attack errors while tallying seven total team blocks.
 
LMU limited Queens to a -.095 attack with only seven kills and nine attack errors in the first set as the Railsplitters attacked at a .409 mark and laid down 12 kills. Winning eight of the first 11 points of the match, LMU raced out to an 8-3 lead with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Johansen Negron. Blocks by sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker and freshman right side hitter Justin Sharfenaker gave the Railsplitters a 17-11 advantage before the Royals went on a 5-2 run to get within three at 19-16. Leading 20-17, the Railsplitters won five of the ensuing six points and closed out set one with a Sharfenaker kill.
 
Its lone inefficient set offensively, LMU attacked at just .143 with 11 kills and seven attack errors in the second set. Overcoming a 12-kill set by Queens off a .375 attack and only three attack errors, the Railsplitters won the first three points of the stanza. A kill by sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus put LMU up 11-7 before the Royals knotted things at 13 after a 6-2 run. From there, the Railsplitters put together an impressive momentum-changing 7-0 run capped by a Sharfenaker ace. Queens would go on a 6-1 run of its own to climb back within two at 21-19, and the Royals would continue their comeback bid by taking four of the next six points to make it a one-point set at 24-23. However, a costly Queens ball handling error quickly wrapped up set two and gave LMU a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Both teams were efficient in what turned out to be the final set with the Railsplitters attacking at .448 with 16 kills and the Royals swinging at .441 with 19 kills. In a set that featured 18 ties and seven lead changes, the squads combined to make just seven attack errors. LMU won four of the first six points of the set and took a 9-7 lead on a solo block by Titus. After Queens retook the lead at 11-9 with four consecutive points, back-to-back Railsplitter kills from Sharfenaker and Negron pushed LMU in front 15-14. Another Sharfenaker kill kept the Railsplitters up by a point at 18-17 before a kill by senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho and a Titus ace made it 20-18. Sharfenaker rose up for his 14th kill of the day to keep LMU in front by two at 21-19 but the Royals went on a 5-2 run to reach set point at 24-23. Following a Queens serving error, which evened the set at 24, Titus slammed back-to-back kills to end the set and clinch the match.
 
Sharfenaker led the way with 15 kills, a career-high five aces and three blocks, while Titus provided 10 kills and two aces and Carvalho five kills and a trio of aces. Junior setter AJ Risavy handed out 31 assists and made seven digs as Negron finished with six digs, five kills, two assists and an ace.
 
Tristan Santoyo registered a match-high 17 kills and notched six digs for the Royals and Queens got a match-best 34 assists from Brandon Grabow and six kills and four blocks from Cody Nix.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters will have a week off before returning to match action next Saturday, April 3 at Lees-McRae. First serve from Williams Gymnasium in Banner Elk, North Carolina, is slated for 2 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.