GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Cole Campisano posted 10 kills and a .750 hitting percentage to lead the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over host Tusculum University Tuesday night at Pioneer Arena.
The Railsplitters (9-3, 3-0 IVA) won the match by scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-22. LMU finished the match hitting .299 as a team as the Splitters posted 34 kills on 67 attempts with 14 errors.
The Pioneers (4-9, 1-3 IVA) were led by Jake Whyte's eight kills, while setter Shaun Kampshoff accounted for a match-high 17 assists with two service aces, three digs and two blocks.
Tusculum got off to a great start scoring the first three points of the match including back-to-back aces by Kampshoff. LMU answered with a 6-0 run to take a 6-3 sparked by a pair of kills from Justin Sharfenaker.
LMU would go up 7-4, before Tusculum scored three straight including an ace by Shaphar Grant to knot the set at 7-7. The Railsplitters opened up a 14-9 lead on a 7-2 spurt capped off by consecutive aces by Kohl Kutsch. After a TU timeout, the teams exchanged points before LMU closed out the frame with a 10-5 run to win the opening set 25-15.
In the second set, Tusculum jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but the Railsplitters responded with a 14-3 run which included three Campisano kills and back-to-back successful attacks by Dawson Walker as LMU led 15-7. Lincoln Memorial extended the lead to as much as 20-11 before taking the stanza 25-18 on a Sharfenaker's kill on set-point.
The third set saw 14 ties and nine lead changes including the final one with TU ahead 17-16 and the Railsplitters scored four straight points to go up 20-17 forcing a TU timeout. Tusculum trimmed the deficit to 20-19 before LMU went on a 3-1 run to go up 23-20 following a Matt Friddle kill. A LMU service error and a Colby Landry kill brought Tusculum to 23-22. But a kill by Walker and a TU bad set on match point sealed the victory for the visitors.
The Pioneers posted negative hitting percentages in the first two sets but hit a match-high .368 to finish the game in the black. Tusculum accounted for 19 kills, 18 errors and 59 attempts for a .017 hitting percentage. Grant finished with four kills and hit .667 while Colby Lander tallied three kills and a block.
Walker tallied seven kills, three assists and four blocks for a .462 attack percentage, while Friddle posted five kills in the third set and hit .364 in the game.
Tusculum will be on the road this weekend for a pair of matches in North Carolina. TU will be at Barton College on Friday for a 7 p.m. match followed by Saturday night's contest at the University of Mount Olive at 6 p.m.
