HARROGATE, Tenn. - Brevard mounted a furious rally, but in the end, it wasn't enough.
Trailing by as many as five points in the fifth set, Brevard (1-4, 0-1 SAC) rallied from a 12-7 deficit to knot the match at 12. It was the first of three ties down the stretch, but Lincoln Memorial (3-1, 1-0 SAC) tallied consecutive points on a pair of Kiera Holland kills to snatch away a victory that was tantalizingly close for a rapidly-improving Tornados' squad.
Brevard set NCAA-era team records with 228 attack attempts, 62 assists, and 116 digs in the five-set thriller that saw 30 ties, 13 lead changes, three sets decided by two points, and a fourth decided by three points. Libero Aleksandra Vrvilo's 39 digs tied her own school NCAA-era record as the Oregon native led a group of five Tornados with double-digit digs.
Erin Barr set a career high and vaulted into third in school NCAA-era history with 50 assists in the match. She also totaled a career-high 23 digs. Rachel Ruble appeared twice in the record books, tying for second overall with a career-high seven assisted blocks and tying for eighth in a five-set match with 18 kills. She bested Fatima Gharachorloo, who set a school record for attempts, by one kill for the team lead, while Whitney DeMoss chipped in a career-high 12 terminations.
The Tornados fell behind after a 25-23 loss in the first set but battled back to knot the match at one apiece in the second. Lincoln Memorial trailed early before opening up a 12-9 lead and forcing a Brevard timeout. The Tornados responded, scoring six consecutive points coming out of the huddle after a Savannah Cox kill began the rally, to take a lead it would not relinquish. A Ruble kill punctuated the set, giving Brevard a 25-22 victory.
The third set was arguably the most competitive of the match. Brevard took a 28-26 victory, gaining the lead on a kill by Gharachorloo before she and Ruble teamed up for a block to end the set. The Tornados earned the win despite allowing Lincoln Memorial to hit .308 with 20 kills and just four errors in the frame, with Brevard's hitting percentage 92 percentage points below that of the Lady Railsplitters.
But the Tornados used three service aces, including two by Kristen Rathbun, two bad sets, and two ball-handling errors to capitalize on the Lady Railsplitters' mistakes and seize a 2-1 lead in the match. Lincoln Memorial raced out to a 10-point victory to force the decisive fifth set before claiming the win in the conference opener for both teams.
The Lady Railsplitters were led by Brooke Fleeman's 15 kills, while Liz Brock, Jazzy Oates, and Holland all tied for second on the squad with 14. Abby Cash had 49 assists and was one of five Lady Railsplitters to reach the 10-dig plateau.
Brevard's road swing continues tomorrow night when the Tornados travel to Jefferson City, Tennessee to take on Carson-Newman. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Featured image courtesy of Neil Hayes. Click here to view more photos by Neil.
