Mars Hill, NC – Lincoln Memorial dropped its first South Atlantic Conference match of the season on Friday night, falling 3–1 (13–25, 25–16, 20–25, 21–25) to Mars Hill inside Chambers Gymnasium. The loss moves LMU to 6–6 overall while giving the Railsplitters a 2–1 mark in South Atlantic Conference play.

After the Lions controlled the opening set, LMU regrouped and responded with its strongest frame of the evening. Behind efficient hitting and steady serving, the Railsplitters pulled away late in the second to take a 25–16 victory and level the match at one set apiece. Mars Hill, however, answered in the third with a late surge before closing out a competitive fourth to seal the 3–1 win.

Finley Sparks powered the LMU attack with 16 kills while hitting .256, while Kaytlin Johnson added 11 kills and chipped in nine digs. At the net, Sarah Robbins and Nikolina Kojic each tallied four blocks to help slow the Lions' offense. Setters Carley Raleigh (19 assists, 10 digs) and Lauren Pickett (17 assists, two aces) split the setting duties effectively to pace the attack. On the defensive end, libero Riley Lockhart anchored the back row with a team-high 20 digs.

The Railsplitters (6–6, 2–1 SAC) will look to bounce back quickly, returning to action on Tuesday, September 23, at 6 p.m. for another conference road test at Emory & Henry in Emory, Virginia.