NEWBERRY - The Newberry Wolves had a rough day offensively Saturday, as the visiting Lincoln Memorial Rail splitters took a 25-23, 25-15, 25-18 sweep in Eleazer Arena.

Newberry falls to 7-7 overall and 1-3 in South Atlantic Conference play, while LMU is now 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the league. The Wolves are at Tusculum and Mars Hill in league play next weekend.

Smanthan Parrish (Angola, Ind.) had a team-high nine kills, while Elayni Stokes (Houston, Texas) had 21 digs.

The first set was tightly played, as Newberry fought back from a six-point deficit at 16-10 to tie the set at 20-all. The set was tied at 23-all before LMU’s Blaire Fowler put away two straight kills to give the ‘Splitters the first set. Parrish had four kills, while middle blockers Jessica King (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Madison Schultz (Decatur, Ind.) had three kills apiece. Newberry hit only .073 in the set.

The Rail splitters were dominant offensively in the second set on the way to a 25-15 set win, with the guests hitting .250 compared to Newberry’s .000. The Wolves got closer to finding their rhythm in the third set, but from an 11-all tie, LMU were able to get out to a 20-14 lead. Newberry was able to get within three at 20-17, but LMU scored five of the final six points to put away the match. Four Wolves had two kills each in the set, but Newberry hit .070 to LMU’s .200.

The Newberry Wolves were locked into a tight battle with the Carson-Newman Eagles all night, but it was the visitors from Tennessee who came out on top in Friday night’s South Atlantic Conference volleyball match, taking a 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20) decision in Eleazer Arena.

Parrish had a 16-kill, 13-dig double-double, while Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) had 30 assists and 10 digs. King had 10 kills and Rachel Moran (Cypress, Texas) had three service aces.

Newberry held an early 9-6 lead in the opening set before the Eagles took off on a surge to get out to a 21-16 lead before a Wolves timeout. The teams split the remaining points in the set with Newberry fighting off set point twice before eventually falling 25-20. Newberry hit only .025 in the set compared to .233 for the Eagles, who had five blocks. Parrish and Jessica King (Los Angeles, Calif.) each had four kills in the set, while Stokes had eight of her team-high 15 digs.

The second set was another close battle, with 13 ties and eight lead changes. C-N scored four straight after a 5-all tie to lead 9-6, but Newberry scored five of the next six points, with a block from Amanda Soper (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Schultz giving the Wolves an 11-10 lead and forcing an Eagle timeout. A 3-0 C-N run brought the Eagles from down a point to a 20-18 lead, which Newberry narrowed to one point on two occasions, but Rachel Bowlin put away kills on three of the last four points to give the guests a 2-0 advantage. Soper had five kills with only one error in the set, while Parrish and King each put away four kills as Newberry upped the hitting percentage to .213 in the set.

The Wolves rebounded in the third set, but it wasn’t easy. Newberry was up 10-5 and appeared to be on a roll, but the Eagles responded with seven straight points for a 12-10 lead. The Wolves fought back to ties at 16-all and 19-all to get to set point at 24-20. The Eagles tried to get in a position to earn a sweep, avoiding the deciding point three times before a Lauren Prachar (Fort Wayne, Ind.) kill gave Newberry the set. Parrish had four kills in the set, while Brittany Tolbert (Mount Airy, N.C.) put away three kills and was in on two blocks.

Carson-Newman had early leads in the fourth set and was up 14-10, but the Wolves surged back to tie the set at 16-all on a King service ace. After a 17-all tie, the Wolves committed two errors and were forced to call timeout. The Eagles used the momentum to take a five-point lead and a block on match point sealed the visitors’ victory. Parrish had four kills in the set, but Newberry hit only .000 with C-N putting up four blocks for a total of 14 on the night.