GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Allison Beavers recorded a triple-double to lead the Lincoln Memorial University volleyball team to a five-set South Atlantic Conference win at Tusculum College Tuesday night at Pioneer Arena. Beavers finished with 45 assists, 15 digs and 12 kills for the Railsplitters.
LMU (20-5, 12-4 SAC) won the match by scores of 18-25, 31-29, 19-25, 25-23, 15-10 as the Railsplitters complete the season sweep over Tusculum (17-11, 10-8 SAC) for the first time in six years.
The loss spoils the record performance by TC All-American libero Caitlyn Dean as she accounted for a Tusculum single-match record 49 digs.
LMU's Candace Richardson tallied 21 kills and a .380 hitting percentage, while Blaire Fowler added 11 kills and 26 digs. Kristen Cantrell posted a team-high 33 digs, while Kaitlin Walton finished with a dozen kills in the victory.
Six Tusculum players finished with double-digit kills, including Bailee Price (13), Taylor Boone (12), Sam Underwood (11), Megan Hasse (11), Natalie Gaudreau (11) and Kassie Voelker (10). Price and Underwood added 22 and 17 digs, respectively, while setter Ashley Sarmiento recorded 13 digs and a season-high 61 assists.
In the opening set, Tusculum used a 12-3 run to spark the Pioneers to a 17-9 advantage thanks to two kills each by Underwood and Hasse, and capped off by a Boone kill. TC would maintain their distance throughout the remainder of the set for a 25-18 win.
The second set was a marathon that saw an amazing 21 ties and four lead changes as the Railsplitters prevailed 31-29, including a solo block by Brittany Pugh on set-point.
In the third frame, Tusculum tallied a 5-2 spurt to move out to a 17-13 lead following a kill from Price. LMU would battle back and tie the set at 19-19 on a 4-0 run that included back-to-back kills by Jennifer Drumm. But TC answered with six straight points to close out the stanza, including a LMU attack error on set point at 25-19.
With Tusculum leading 10-8 in the fourth set, LMU scored seven consecutive points to take a 15-10 lead. The run was sparked by three kills by Richardson. The Railsplitters moved their lead out to 20-14 following a kills from Drumm, before Tusculum responded with a 5-0 spurt to cut the deficit to 20-19. LMU would score four of the next six points to lead 24-21. TC would cut the LMU lead to one at 24-23 following a Gaudreau kill, but the Pioneers dropped the set on a service error as the Railsplitters won 25-23.
LMU accounted for a key 6-1 run to take a 9-4 lead in the fifth set. Tusculum battled with a 5-1 spurt to trail 10-9 following a Gaudrea kill. But the Railsplitters close out the match with a 5-1 run of its own, including solo block by Pugh on match-point to win 15-10.
Tusculum's neutral-site match against Erskine College, slated for this Saturday in Bristol, Tenn., has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. The Pioneers will be in action Nov. 11-13 at the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament, host by LMU in Harrogate, Tenn. Official bracket and pairings will be announced this weekend.
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