Mars Hill, NC -- The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters fell on the road Friday night in a straight-set South Atlantic Conference matchup against Mars Hill, dropping the contest by scores of 25-22, 25-22, and 25-18 inside Stanford Arena.
The opening set featured early back-and-forth action as Lincoln Memorial relied on heavy attacking from Kaytlin Johnson and Sarah Robbins to keep pace. Lauren Pickett orchestrated the offense with early assists to Finley Sparks and Jazmine Starks, but the Lions capitalized on late Railsplitter errors to build a lead. Despite a late push featuring kills from Johnson and Sparks, Mars Hill secured the final block of the set to close out a 25-22 victory.
Lincoln Memorial came out strong in the second set behind kills from Starks and Robbins, briefly taking an early lead. The Lions quickly responded, putting pressure on the Railsplitters with an aggressive attack and forcing multiple Lincoln Memorial timeouts. Although Georgia Dobson and Sparks brought the Railsplitters within striking distance late in the frame, Mars Hill held off the rally to claim the set 25-22.
In the third set, the Lions surged out to an early advantage and maintained control throughout the action. Lincoln Memorial looked to spark a comeback with key defensive stops and late offensive contributions from Milyn Minor and Johnson, but Mars Hill remained disciplined at the net. An ace from the Lions sealed the third set at 25-18 to complete the sweep.
The Railsplitters will look to bounce back as they continue their conference road slate tomorrow afternoon on the road at Tusculum.
