Newberry, SC -- The Lincoln Memorial women's volleyball team hit the road on Friday to face its first South Atlantic Conference road test of the season, traveling to Newberry, South Carolina, to square off against an undefeated Newberry Wolves. The Wolves entered the home contest boasting an unblemished 8-0 record and a 1-0 mark in conference action, having dropped only 3 sets all season. Behind a resilient team effort, Lincoln Memorial handed the Wolves their first loss of the campaign in a four-set battle, securing a 25-23, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23 victory. The landmark win also marked the first conference road victory for first-year head coach Peyton McDaniel at the helm of the program.
Lincoln Memorial set the tone early in the opening frame, building a quick advantage before withstanding a mid-set surge from Newberry. Lauren Pickett orchestrated the attack effectively, finding Laney Inman and Kaytlin Johnson for crucial kills down the stretch. After Newberry rallied to tie the frame late, a block by Pickett and Jazmine Starks put the Railsplitters back on top, followed by a set-clinching kill from Johnson to close out the 25-23 win.
Carrying momentum into the second set, Lincoln Memorial flexed its defensive muscle at the net. Starks combined with Johnson and Pickett for multiple late blocks to stifle the Wolves' offense. Offensively, Georgia Dobson and Finley Sparks delivered timely swings to keep the pressure on the opposition. Inman closed out the second set with an emphatic kill off a assist from Pickett, extending the match lead to two sets with a 25-18 decision.
Newberry responded in the third set, using a early scoring run to capture a 25-18 set victory and avoid the sweep. Undeterred, the Railsplitters regrouped for a highly competitive fourth frame. Lincoln Memorial capitalized on defensive blocks from Dobson, Sparks, and Starks to keep the set within reach. Trailing 23-22 late in the action, Sparks put down a clutch kill off a Pickett setup to spark a game-ending three-point run, capped off by a final kill from Dobson to seal the 25-23 set victory and the match win.
Lincoln Memorial will have little time to revel in the massive road victory. The Railsplitters take to Anderson, SC on Saturday seeking to upend the Trojans at home with the match set to begin at 3:00 PM.Â
