Railsplitters Edge Lions in Home Finale
Lincoln Memorial defeated Mars Hill 3-0
MARS HILL, N.C.- The Mars Hill volleyball team lost to Lincoln Memorial 3-0 in the 2015 home finale in Stanford Arena on Saturday night. LMU won by scores of 25-22, 27-25 and 26-24 to improve to 15-13 and 12-10. Mars Hill falls to 7-21 and 5-16.
Rebecca Butler and Elizabeth Kaeser each had 12 kills for the Lions, followed by Maddie Spurgeon with 11. Victoria Kaiser had a match-high 20 digs. Andie Russell dished out 39 assists. Kaeser and Mary Kate Griffin each had a service ace.
Kiera Holland led LMU with 11 kills, followed by Jazzy Oates with eight. Erica Whiteaker had 15 digs, followed by Abby Cash with 11. Cash had 23 assists.
Lincoln Memorial jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the opening set before a pair of attack errors evened the stanza at 10. LMU held a 17-15 advantage before a pair of attack errors and a Lauren Hochstetler kill gave Mars Hill an 18-17 lead. Lincoln Memorial led 21-19 before consecutive kills from Griffin and Kaeser tied the set at 21. The Railsplitters took the lead thanks to a Lion service error followed by an MHU attack error. Hochstetler would give the Lions a kill to pull within one, 23-22, before consecutive Brooke Fleeman kills ended the set.
Mars Hill took a 10-6 lead in the second set following a Griffin kill and enjoyed a 17-12 lead thanks to a 7-1 run. Lincoln Memorial battled back, cutting the lead to two following a Cash kill and tying the set at 10 following a MHU attack error. LMU led 24-23 before a Butler kill and Griffin kill gave the Lions a 25-24 edge. Consecutive errors gave the visitors a 26-25 lead before a Cash service ace ended the set.
Lincoln Memorial led 9-6 in the third set before going on a 5-1 run for a 14-7 lead. The Railsplitters took advantage of a Lion attack error to go ahead 17-12 before Mars Hill used three straight kills to pull within two, 17-15. The Lions evened the set at 20 following a Hochstetler kill as the teams traded the next eight points to remain tied at 24 following a Butler kill. Holland's 11th kill of the night gave the visitors match point, with a Lion error ending the contest.
Mars Hill outhit Lincoln Memorial .234 to .209 but had 21 attack errors compared to 12 from LMU.
Mars Hill concludes the 2015 season on Saturday at Carson-Newman. First serve is scheduled for Noon.
