ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team battled Lindenwood for five sets, but fell on Friday night in extra points (24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 17-25, 15-17).
 
 The Railsplitters and Lions traded blows to begin the match, but Lindenwood was able to then take a 11-9 lead over LMU. The Blue and Gray offense then turned on the burners and used a six-point run to take a 15-11 lead. The Lions clawed their way back to the lead and pushed their way to a first set victory with a three-point run to capture set one, 26-24.
 
The Railsplitters came out firing in the second set, racing out to an 8-4 lead. Lindenwood was able to get their offense going, but the Blue and Gray defense stood told and allowed the offense to use an 8-2 run to take an 20-11 lead. The Lions tried to mount a comeback late, but Matthew Gentry slammed the kill one to give LMU the second set win, 25-18.
 
Lincoln Memorial got out to another hot start, jumping out to a 10-6 lead early before the Lions made a substitution. The Railsplitters' offense continued to shine in the third set as the saw a double-digit lead, 19-9. Lindenwood found themselves again down and needing to comeback, nearly doing so as the Railsplitters captured the third set just 25-20.
 
The Lions raced out to an 8-1 lead to begin the fourth set, dominating for most of the start of the set, before the Railsplitters found some offense late in the set. It was not enough for Lincoln Memorial as Lindenwood forced the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
Lindenwood, again, jumped out to an early lead, but Lincoln Memorial was able to close the gap every time. Holding the match point at 14-11, the Lions allowed the Splitters to rattled off three straight points to even things up. The programs traded points late, but a kill by the Lions sealed the deal for the Lindenwood win, 17-15.
 
Cole Campisano paced the Railsplitter offense on the night with 11 kills and picked up three blocks and two digs. Freshman Kohl Kutsch recorded his first double-double as a Railsplitter as he finished the contest with 38 assists and 10 digs. Dawson Walker paced the defense as the junior totaled six blocks in the contests and added seven kills on the offensive side of the net.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will head to nearby Lebanon, Illinois for the second match of the Lindenwood Invite as LMU is due for a rematch with the Bearcats of McKendree. The Bearcats come into the rematch ranked No. 14 in the AVCA NCAA Division I/II Poll. Earlier this season, the Splitters bested McKendree in a four set thriller in Harrogate.
 
Follow Along
 
Be sure to stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com , as well as LMU's social media platforms – @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram – for up-to-date Railsplitter men's volleyball information, including any 2022 schedule changes.