‘Splitters rally late to hold off Eagles in five sets
September 13, 2016

‘Splitters rally late to hold off Eagles in five sets

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial overcame a 2-1 deficit in the match to steal a five-set match from Carson-Newman 25-14, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-11 Tuesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse in South Atlantic Conference play.

VIDEO: Dave Franklin Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial overcame a 2-1 deficit in the match to steal a five-set match from Carson-Newman 25-14, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-11 Tuesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse in South Atlantic Conference play.

"We talked about it after the first weekend that we knew this team could fight," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "In the first set, we were a little tentative and they were really aggressive and brought great energy. To come back in the second set and just keep battling point-after-point and play the next point was awesome. We grew up a lot tonight. We are a young, inexperienced team in a rivalry match and we just started going for it. This is by far the best match we played all year."

The win for LMU (5-1, 2-0) is the first time that it has won at Holt Fieldhouse since Nov. 12, 2013, also a five-set thriller against C-N (1-5, 1-1).

Lincoln Memorial hit an explosive .500 in the opening set on 16 kills. The lead for the visitors was two points at 7-5 when the 'Splitters went on a 9-1 spurt to go ahead 16-7 and seize control of the frame and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second stanza saw the 'Splitters storm out to a 6-1 advantage. The Eagles clawed back but still trailed 15-12. C-N won six straight and 10 of the next 12 points to take a 22-17 lead. A kill by freshman outside hitter Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) equalized the match at one.

The third set once again saw the home group fall behind in a frame that saw five ties and three lead changes. The Railsplitters led 14-9 until the Eagles rattled off six unanswered to capture the lead. LMU closed within a point three times late before a service error by Jamie Jehne handed the set to the Eagles.

In the fourth frame, there was 14 tie scores and nine lead changes. LMU held a 13-9 lead when the Eagles reeled off six of the next seven points to take a 15-14 advantage and force a timeout form the 'Splitters. It was the last time either side won consecutive points until the visitors broke a 20-20 deadlock with five of the final six rallies to force a fifth set.

C-N took a 4-2 lead in the early going before giving up five straight points to fall behind 7-4 and taking a timeout. The Eagles soared out of the respite with five unanswered of their own to take a 9-7 edge. Lincoln Memorial followed with a 6-0 run to get to match point. After fending off a pair of match points, the 'Splitters were able to capture the match on a service error by senior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.).

The Eagles ended the match with a .167 attack percentage, 63 digs, 12 total blocks and five service aces while the Railsplitters totaled a .219 hitting clip, 73 digs, 12 rejections and five service aces.

A trio of freshman for Franklin's group set career highs on the day. Outside hitter Abbie McFarlane (McKinney, Texas) picked up her first double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs. Outside hitter Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) hit .244 with 16 smashes while middle blocker Alex Biro (Ootlewah, Tenn.) collected 10 kills and 3.5 total blocks.

It is the first time in at least the last 10 years that three freshman recorded at least 10 kills in a match.

Kiera Holland led the way for coach Jenny Michael's squad with a match-high 20 kills while hitting .231 with seven digs. Liz Brock added 12 kills while Abby Cash finished with 44 assists and 11 digs.

Carson-Newman plays its next four matches on the road beginning Friday evening at 7 p.m. with a match at Anderson (S.C.)  beginning at 7 p.m.

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