JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Lincoln Memorial University volleyball team completed play at the Carson-Newman Classic on Saturday as they split a pair of matches, opening with a 3-0 win over UNC-Pembroke and closing with a 3-0 loss at the hands of Palm Beach Atlantic. With the split, the Lady Railsplitters move to 7-4 on the season.

The Lady Railsplitters dominated three sets of play en route to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-10) sweep over UNC-Pembroke in the opening match.

LMU controlled the pace offensively with a combined .372 attack percentage in the contest, highlighted by a .536 attack percentage in the third set. Blaire Fowler led the way for LMU with 12 kills on only 19 attempts, good for a .526 attack percentage. Jennifer Drumm notched ten kills in the match on a .471 attack percentage. LMU recored 46 kills to only 30 in favor of UNC-Pembroke. Brittany Pugh led all players with 24 assists, complimented by 16 from Allison Beavers. Fowler finished off her double-double with 13 digs.

UNC-Pembroke was led by eight kills from Marissa Baker. Ashlyn Rebok led the way offensively for Pembroke with 22 assists.

In the first set, the Lady Railsplitters faced a 17-12 deficit at the midway point of the set before using a 9-4 rally to tie the game at 21 apiece, capped by a service error from UNC-Pembroke. From that juncture, the Lady Railsplitters closed the set with a 4-1 rally, paced by three attack errors from Pembroke over that span to take the first set, 25-22.

The second set saw the Lady Railsplitters extend their momentum by running out to a 9-4 advantage, paced by two kills from Jennifer Drumm. UNC-Pembroke cut the deficit to three at 12-9 but the Lady Railsplitters used a 6-3 run, pressed by five kills over that span to put the set out of reach. LMU capped the set on a kill by Blaire Fowler to take a 25-19 victory and a 2-0 lead.

At the midway point of the third set, the Lady Railsplitters held a 14-9 lead before closing the set and the match on an 11-1 run, capped by a kill from Allison McKinnon to take the match, 3-0.

The Lady Railsplitters compiled 57 digs in the match to only 35 in favor of UNC-Pembroke.

In the second match the Lady Railsplitters and the Sailfish battled tough in the opening two sets, but LMU fell in three to Palm Beach Atlantic to cap the Carson-Newman Classic (25-22, 25-23, 25-13).

The Lady Railsplitters were limited to a .115 attack percentage and 25 kills total in the match, paced by six kills apiece from Jennifer Drumm and Blaire Fowler. Chelsea Ferron led LMU with a game-high 14 digs in the match, while Brittany Pugh and Allison Beavers notched 11 and 12 assists respectively.

Mariela Quesada led the Sailfish with 14 kills and Christina Alessi aided that attack with 13 kills in the match. Becca Acevedo notched 36 assists in the match.

In the first set, LMU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead on the wings of two kills from Jennifer Drumm. The Sailfish hung tight and quickly responded by tying the game after a 15-9 rally, capped by a service ace from Lexie Grizzle. Palm Beach Atlantic took the lead on the next point with a kill from Mariela Quesada and never looked back en route to a 25-22 set victory.

The second set saw the two teams battle out to a 16-16 stalemate. From that juncture, the Sailfish used a 5-1 rally to take a 21-17 lead. LMU would fight to bring the set to 24-23 in favor of the Sailfish, however, Palm Beach Atlantic took the final point with a kill from Christina Alessi, giving them a 2-0 lead.

The third set went in dominant form to the Sailfish as they ran out of the gates by taking a 17-7 lead. The Lady Railsplitters were unable to make a push back into the set as the Sailfish took the final set, 25-13, to win the match.

The Lady Railsplitters will be back in action today as they open South Atlantic Conference play by traveling to Mars Hill (N.C.) College to face the Lions. That match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.