HARROGATE, Tenn. – Tying its highest attack percentage of the season and claiming 45 kills, the Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team closed out its unique 2020-21 spring season in style. The Lady Railsplitters' offense was firing on all cylinders Saturday afternoon inside historic Mary E. Mars Gymnasium as LMU defeated Newberry College in straight sets, attacking at an efficient .287 clip.
 
The senior day victory, which saw set wins of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-23, was the Lady Railsplitters' second triumph in the team's last three matches and marked the third straight-set win of the season. LMU ends its 2020-21 campaign with a 4-6 record both overall and in South Atlantic Conference play.
 
Prior to first serve, the Lady Railsplitters' two seniors, libero Sarah Jones and middle blocker Yileen Ng He, were honored for their hard work and dedication to the LMU women's volleyball program.
 
Attacking at a clip of at least .256 in all three sets, the Lady Railsplitters laid down no less than 13 kills in each set while holding the visiting Wolves (4-5, 4-5 SAC) to 32 kills and a .167 attack. Newberry earned seven total team blocks in the Saturday matinee while LMU tallied six service aces.
 
Limiting the Wolves to a -.034 attack and only six kills in the opening set, the Lady Railsplitters posted 13 kills off a .276 attack and cruised to take a 1-0 lead in the match. After early ties of 5-5 and 6-6, LMU put together a convincing 11-2 run to go up 17-8 on kills from junior opposite hitter Gabriela Abreu and freshman middle blocker Richlyn Ross. Newberry won five of the next eight points to get within seven at 20-13, but the Lady Railsplitters earned five-straight points to complete the set. A kill by sophomore middle blocker Sierrah Lemons and an ace from junior setter Emily Walter put a stamp on the set.
 
LMU committed just three attack errors in the second set and notched 15 kills off a .333 attack as the Wolves were also solid offensively, swinging at .250 with 13 kills and only four attack errors. Carrying their momentum into set two, the Lady Railsplitters raced out to a 12-6 lead before Newberry responded with a 7-3 run to get within two at 15-13. Walter then capped a 5-2 LMU run to put the hosts up by five at 20-15 before the two squads exchanged points. Leading 23-19, the Lady Railsplitters got a kill and an ace from Abreu to finish off the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Compiling 17 kills off a .256 attack, LMU had its closest set of the day in the third with the Wolves attacking at .243 and marking down 13 kills for the second consecutive set. The Lady Railsplitters won four of the first five points of the stanza but a 7-3 Newberry run put the visiting team ahead 10-9. A 6-1 LMU run capped by a Ng He kill gave the Lady Railsplitters a comfortable 15-11 advantage and the Blue and Gray remained in front the rest of the way. Up 19-15 following a kill from freshman outside hitter Haley Brown and a Wolf attack error, LMU saw its lead quickly diminish. Newberry made its final push, using a 4-1 run to get within one at 20-19 off a block from Katie Ullsperger and Zoe Dinkins. Getting within a point on three more occasions, the Wolves staved off a pair of match points at 24-21 before Lemons rose up for the final kill of the day to clinch the win. A Ng He kill and a block by Lemons and Brown had secured the trio of Lady Railsplitter match points.
 
Abreu led LMU with 11 kills and a career-high tying three aces while Ng He finished with 10 kills off an impressive .625 attack percentage. Walter registered her seventh double-double of the season with a match-high 35 assists and 10 digs as Brown collected nine kills and Jones a team-best 14 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Karlie Dennard added nine digs.  
 
Newberry's Natasha Bannister posted a team-high 10 kills and the Wolves got eight kills apiece from Lacie Wood and Ullsperger. Dinkins led all on the block with six and Lauren Black made a match-high 15 digs for Newberry with Avery Webb assisting on 25 kills.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters will turn their attention to the 2021 beach volleyball season, which gets underway in just two weeks at Liberty University's LU Beach NCAA Duals in Lynchburg, Virginia, Saturday and Sunday, April 17-18. The shortened season features a total of three weekends of competition in Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina.
 
How to Follow
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