HICKORY, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne fell 3-1 to Lincoln Memorial in the final home game of the 2026 regular season on Friday.
Prior to the game tonight, Lenoir-Rhyne honored seniors
Lola Nolasco,
Kiley Redfern,
Averie Dale,
Morgan Blankenship,
Sydney Karjala, and
Adriana Lane.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lincoln Memorial 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 1 (25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 25-22)
Records: Lincoln Memorial (15-10, 13-8 SAC), Lenoir-Rhyne (16-10, 14-8 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena
STORY OF THE MATCH:
- Following a 5-5 tie, LMU led the rest of the way, never trailing en route to a 25-19 set one victory.
- The Bears kept things tight in the second set, tying things up at 19-19 following an Emmaleigh Allen kill.
- The Railsplitters went on a 3-0 run, turning all momentum the visitor's way, eventually leading to the 25-22 set two win.
- Lenoir-Rhyne dominated set three, leading by as many as nine in the victory.
- A Brooke Aeschliman ace and Morgan Blankenship kill gave LR an early 6-3 lead in set four.
- That lead didn't last long, with Lincoln Memorial tying things up at 11-11 and following that up with a 6-0 run that forced two Bear timeouts.
- Down 21-14, Lenoir-Rhyne tried to claw back, making it a 22-21 Railsplitter lead after a 7-1 run.
- LMU settled down, scoring three of the final four points to take the set and the match.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Lenoir-Rhyne hit just .197 in the match, compared to .230 for Lincoln Memorial.
- Brooke Aeschliman led the Bears with 18 kills and 15 digs.
- Ella Scott was tops with 24 assists, while Averie Dale had five blocks.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series 23-16.
- Lincoln Memorial swept the season series with the Bears for the first time since 2012.
- With her fifth block, Averie Dale moved into sixth in the Lenoir-Rhyne record book for career blocks with 349.
UP NEXT: This game concluded Lenoir-Rhyne's regular season. The Bears' next contest will be in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina. All four quarterfinals game will take place on Tuesday, November 10th, with both semi-finals being placed on Wednesday and the championship on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The tournament field will be announced tomorrow afternoon following the conclusion of the 2pm volleyball slate.
