BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball program was able to bring the Rivalry Belt back to Harrogate as the Railsplitters were able to defeat King in four sets (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21) on Tuesday night to secure the season sweep over the Tornado.
The Railsplitters took an early lead, but the Tornado were able to bounce back and even things at 5-all. Lincoln Memorial was able to use a three-point run to create a little bit of separation and were able to maintain that lead until breaking out a four-point run later in the set to take a 19-13 lead. King fought back, pulling to within four, but it was the Splitters to tally the final point of set one, 25-20.
King came out firing in the second set, running out to a 5-3 lead over LMU before using a four-point run to extend their lead to 9-4. The Railsplitters were able to get back-to-back points on bad sets by the Tornado setter, but King was able to bounce back and push their lead back to five. The Railsplitters faced a deficit and mounted a comeback, but the Tornado was able to hold on to even the match, 25-23.
The Railsplitters got back into their groove as they jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but King had other plans as they used a four-point run to take the lead, 6-5. Lincoln Memorial flipped the script and tallied a six-point rally to run out to a 14-9 lead. The Tornado made one final push late in the set, but the Railsplitters were able to secure the set three win, 25-20.
The Tornado jumped out to an early lead, but the 'Splitters relied on patience in the set as the swings started connecting to even things up at 17-all. Using a five-point run, Lincoln Memorial was able to take a 21-17 lead. King was able to make things interesting as they ran the tally up to 22-21 LMU, before the Railsplitters closed out the match on a three-point run, 25-21.
Junior
Johansen Negron powered the Railsplitter offense with a career-high 31 kills and finished the night with a .440 hitting percentage.
Justin Sharfenaker was the lone other Splitter to tally double digits with 17 kills on 32 attempts. Freshman
Kohl Kutsch flowed the Blue and Gray offense with a career-high 57 assists and added 10 digs for his third double-double of the season.
Up Next
The Railsplitters will head to down the country roads to West Virginia for a tri-match date with Alderson Broaddus and Carlow on Friday, April 1. First serve against Alderson Broaddus is slated for 12:00 p.m. ET.
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.
