Railsplitters Defeat Mars Hill in Five Sets

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team lost 3-2 to Lincoln Memorial by scores of 22-25, 25-11, 25-22, 19-25 and 15-4 on Tuesday in Stanford Arena. The Lions fall to 7-15 overall and 6-9 in the South Atlantic Conference while Lincoln Memorial improves to 14-9 and 10-5 in the league.

Mary Kate Griffin led the Lions with a match-high 18 kills, with Rebecca Butler contributing 12 kills and Lauren Hochstetler with 10 kills. Griffin and Sara Fahrenbrook each had two aces. Butler led the Mars Hill defense with 21 digs, with Hochstetler and Christen Nicholson tallying 13 digs each, Griffin with 12 and Fahrenbrook with 10.

Kiera Holland finished with 15 kills to lead the Railsplitters, followed by 13 kills by Allison Beavers. Holland and Casey Mense each had 16 digs, with 11 each from Kendra Gephart and Bristol Snider.

Trailing 17-11 in the first set, the Lions tied the score at 17 thanks to a pair of kills by Hochstetler and Butler as well as a Griffin ace. With the score knotted at 20, Mars Hill pulled ahead for good thanks to a Railsplitter error and held off Lincoln Memorial for a 25-22 opening set win. After spotting the opening point to Mars Hill, Lincoln Memorial never looked back in a 25-11 second set win.

Tied at 21 in the third set, a Brooke Fleeman kill gave the Railsplitters a 22-21 lead as they scored four of the final five points to claim a 25-22 triumph in the third set, which featured 13 ties and six lead changes. Mars Hill held an early 8-4 lead in the fourth set before Lincoln Memorial evened the set at 15. The Lions responded, holding a 20-18 advantage before scoring five of the last six points to force a fifth set with a 25-19 win.

Lincoln Memorial pulled out to a 7-1 lead and hit a match-high .467 to claim the fifth set and the match, their first victory in Stanford Arena since 2011.

Mars Hill hits the road this weekend, traveling to Catawba for a 7 p.m. match on Friday and Queens for a 2 p.m. duel Saturday.