SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Lincoln Memorial men's volleyball team's comeback attempt fell short in five sets (25-18, 15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 16-14) on Thursday night against UC San Diego in the Asics Invitational. Shay Spadaro's 18 kills on a .708 hitting percentage was not enough for the Railsplitters (0-2) to overcome the Toreros (1-0).

Set 1: UC San Diego 25-18
The Railsplitters got out to an early 4-2 lead after kills by Spadaro, Justin Sharfenaker and Cole Campisano. A later 5-1 run by the Toreros put them ahead 10-8, but Lincoln Memorial would regain the advantage at 12-11 following back-to-back Spadaro kills. UC San Diego would take 10 of the next 13 points to build a 21-15 lead and clinch the set on a Ryan Ka kill. Spadaro led the Railsplitter offense with five kills, while Campisano added four kills in the opening frame.

Set 2: Lincoln Memorial 25-15
Campisano, Spadaro and Kohl Kutsch kills got LMU out to an 8-3 lead. A later 8-1 scoring streak for the Railsplitters, highlighted by back-to-back Matthew Gentry aces, extended the advantage to 21-11, and they would clinch the set on a Spadaro kill. Spadaro again led Lincoln Memorial, this time with four kills in the second period.

Set 3: UC San Diego 25-23
A trio of terminations by Campisano, Gentry and Kutsch allowed the Railsplitters to start strong once again, and they led 9-5 after a 5-1 run. It would hold that lead until a 9-2 UC San Diego streak gave the Toreros a 23-18 advantage. The Railsplitters fought back with a 4-0 run to get within one at 23-22, but UC San Diego took 2 of the final 3 points to get to a set up once more. Campisano put down five kills in the third frame for LMU.

Set 4: Lincoln Memorial 25-20
Lincoln Memorial scored 11 of the first 15 points in the frame and would lead by at least four points the rest of the way before a kill from Gentry clinched the set to force a fifth. Gentry put down a total of six kills in the fourth frame to lead the Railsplitter offense.

Set 5: UC San Diego 16-14
The deciding frame went back-and-forth until terminations from Spadaro and Campisano sparked a 3-0 Lincoln Memorial streak to put the Railsplitters up 13-11. The Toreros subsequently went on a 5-1 scoring run to clinch the set and the match. Campisano again paced the Lincoln Memorial offense with four kills in the final period.

Stat of the Match
Lincoln Memorial outhit UC San Diego .345 to .250.

Inside the Box Score
- Spadaro had the 18 kills on just 24 swings with one error while adding seven digs, two blocks, an ace and an assist.
- Campisano contributed 14.5 points on 14 kills and a block assist while adding four digs.
- Kohl Kutsch stuffed the stat sheet with 48 assists, seven digs, four block assists, and two solo blocks.
- Gentry went for nine kills, four blocks, three digs and two aces.
- The Railsplitters outblocked the Toreros 12-to-4.

Up Next
Lincoln Memorial takes on UC Santa Barbara on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT in its second match of the Asics Invitational.