GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Liz Brock recorded 13 kills and a .324 hitting percentage to lead the Lincoln Memorial University volleyball team to a 3-0 South Atlantic Conference win over host Tusculum College Tuesday night at Pioneer Arena.
The Railsplitters (22-4, 16-2 SAC) won the match by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 to sweep the season series over the Pioneers (11-15, 6-12 SAC) for the first time since 2013. LMU also maintains its lead in the conference standings while extending its winning streak to five in a row.
The Railsplitters finished the match with 44 kills and a .284 hitting percentage, including a dozen kills from Kiera Holland. LMU also got seven kills from Jamie Jehne who finished the match hitting on a .545 clip. LMU setter Abby Cash dished out 37 assists and eight digs, while posting five kills in her eight attempts (.625).
TC senior Sarah Bouley led Tusculum with eight kills, nine digs and two blocks, while Laryssa Welch and Cassie Born contributed seven kills apiece. TC also got six kills each from Mariah Lewis and senior Rachel Garnett.
In the opening frame, LMU jumped out to a 10-6 lead after an Abby Cash kill and a Tusculum hitting error. The Pioneers answered with an 8-1 run sparked by Welch's three-kill outburst during the flurry to take a 14-11 lead. Following a LMU timeout, the Railsplitters responded with a 7-3 spurt thanks to back-to-back kills from Brock as LMU regained the lead at 18-17. The lead bounced back and forth before TC took a 22-21 lead on a Welch kills. But LMU scored the final four points of the frame, including a pair of Holland kills and an Erica Whiteaker service ace on set point to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, LMU bolted out to a 9-3 sparked by a kill and a block from Holland for the Railsplitters. Tusculum bounced back with five unanswered points thanks to a Shannon Murphy ace and blocks from Welch and Garnett as TC trimmed the deficit to 9-8. Following a LMU timeout, the visitors used an 8-3 spark to extend the lead to 17-11. TC trimmed the deficit back to one at 20-19 on a Murphy ace. But LMU turned back the rally with a 6-1 run including a pair of Jehne kills to claim the set, 25-21.
Lincoln Memorial closed out the match with a 25-19 win in the third set as the Splitters hit .333 as a team, including five kills from Brock and four more from Holland. LMU took its largest lead at 24-14 following a kill from Abby Cash. The Pioneers would not go down without a fight as TC turned away match point five times, but Brock ended the night with a kill to seal the victory.
Tusculum finished with 40 kills and a .179 hitting percentage. Each team recorded five aces and five blocks, while LMU edged the Pioneers 46-45 in kills and 42-37 in assists.
TC setter Hallie Zumack dished out 20 assists and made eight digs, while Murphy contributed 16 assists, two aces and two digs.
Tusculum returns to action on Friday when they host Anderson University for a 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night as the Pioneers will honor Garnett and Bouley.
