Win Over Mars Hill Allows Lady Railsplitters To Remain Unbeaten In The South Atlantic Conference

HARROGATE, TN – The Lincoln Memorial University volleyball team moved to 11-5 overall and 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference with Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Mars Hill College.

The match was the conference home opener for Lincoln Memorial and the second conference outing of the year for both teams.  LMU, which entered the match at 1-0 in the conference following last Wednesday night’s win over Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee looked solid early, winning game-one 30-19.  In the second game however, the young Lady Railsplitters committed several key mistakes and allowed the Lions to come from behind to take a close 30-27 decision.

With the match locked at a game apiece, LMU Head Coach Mike Smith got vocal with his team and challenged them to step up their game.  His team must have got the message as the Lady Railsplitters reeled off 30-22 and 30-23 wins in games three and four to come away with their second SAC win of the season.

Mars Hill’s Danielle Silvers led the match with 22 kills on the night, while LMU’s Lauren Kiwacka (Tipp City, OH) handed out the most assists with 48.  The only other Mars Hill player in double digits in kills was Chelsea Coleman who had 10, while Lincoln Memorial’s Ashley Knight (Palm Harbor, FL) had 18, Amanda Horenkamp (Murfreesboro, TN) had 16 and Alison Hess (Dayton, OH) and Caitlin Hankins (Oklahoma City, OK) each had 13.

Defensively, both teams gave a solid performance.  LMU’s Alicia McIntyre (Muncie, IN) led the way with a match-high 34 digs on the night, while teammate Karlee Wyrick (Cincinnati, OH) had 17, Amanda Horenkamp had 16, Amanda Baker (Los Banos, CA) had 14 and Lauren Kiwacka had 10.

For Mars Hill, Tiffany Oreka finished the night with 21 digs, while Lindsay Phillips had 20, Brittany Enloe had 17, Kelly Koziel had 13 and Sarah Paquette had 10 before the loss dropped the Lions to 11-5 overall and 0-2 in the South Atlantic Conference.

The Lady Railsplitters now prepare to hit the road again.  This time however, it won’t be for a grueling twelve-match stretch such as they have endured the first 17 days of September.  LMU will travel to Hickory, North Carolina on Friday to take on conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne College, before moving over to Brevard, North Carolina on Saturday to take on future South Atlantic Conference opponent Brevard College.  Friday’s match with the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne College is set to get underway at 7:00 p.m. in Hickory.