The UVA Wise Highland Cavaliers volleyball team lost a tough match to the Lincoln Memorial (LMU) Railsplitters tonight on Cavalier home front, falling 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-20).

The Railsplitters (9-18, 5-12 SAC) came into Wise, VA after back-to-back losses suffered by the Carson-Newman Eagles and the Limestone Saints the week prior — so the Railsplitters came into the match hungry for a win. They started off the first set snagging seven of the first 10 points scored in the match led by heavy hitters Ketura Margaret and Sierrah Lemons. Adison Minor of the Cavs chopped up their lead with a few kills of her own aided in part by setter Rylee Waye, but found themselves trailing by five behind LMU with the score 11-6. Margaret led a three-point run for the Railsplitters to get a 14-6 lead and gave LMU enough drive to keep a steady lead. The Railsplitters eventually ran away with the win 25-13.

The Cavs seemed to gain more energy the more they played, as they found themselves with a 9-3 early lead on the Railsplitters in the second set due to Matelyn Gibson and Minor taking ultimate control of their side of the court. LMU struck back fairly quickly, with Gabriela Abreu producing 4 kills out of the nine points scored in their response rally. With the score tied, Dannah Persinger of the Cavs came right back and produced two kills of her own to get the lead back; but the lead didn't last for long. The Railsplitters and the Cavs fought for the lead for the majority of the rest of the set. Suddenly, the Railsplitters snagged three back-to-back points to get the lead once again and were able to take control. LMU was able to snag the second match W, with a score of 25-16.

In the third set, energy was high in the arena as both teams exchanged points for the lead. With the score 16-14, the Railsplitters grabbed two more points to try and sever the efforts of the Cavs and seal the deal. Nevertheless, the Cavs refused to go down without a fight as Kelsey Green produced two kills and Waye produced a service ace to make the score 18-17. Although the Cavs grabbed a few easy points from LMU errors, Margaret of LMU once again came out swinging and made the score 22-19. The Cavs fought to reduce their lead, but the odds were not in their favor as the match ended in a Railsplitters win. 

Minor led the Cavs in kills with seven and teammate Green followed right behind her at five. Abreu and Margaret represented the Railsplitters with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Gibson ended the night leading with 15 digs.

Catch the Cavs tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. in the David J. Prior Convocation Center as they face the Carson-Newman Eagles and honor their seniors — Gibson and Green.